


Worlds Apart

by miki_mouse716



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-05-24 03:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6140751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miki_mouse716/pseuds/miki_mouse716
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before accepting his full role as a tombkeeper, Marik and Ishizu venture to the surface. While at the market, Marik's heart is stolen by a young girl. After his father's death, he finds comfort in her and is certain that nothing will break them apart. He's certain that the darkness won't reclaim him again. It's no harm, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is a rewritten version of a story I wrote years ago and I decided to give it a new lease on life. Please enjoy the story and let me know what you think!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't Yu-Gi-Oh! or it's characters. I own my characters only (the Minami family).
> 
> Text notes:  
>  _'text'_ - > thinking/thoughts

She quietly unpacked the last box of her things, one by one. Minutes later she placed the last book into the bookshelf. She slowly started to walk to her window as the sun was rising slowly into the horizon. Upon opening, the harsh desert air slapped her face. She flinched a little and sighed, growing irritated. She hadn't adjusted to the time zone change or the temperature differences. Although she thought that sunrises were a beautiful sight to behold, today was just not one of those days. She was never a morning person and right now, she just wanted to seek refuge in her dreams. She closed her eyes and thought back to her life back in Domino. Memories of her family and friends that she left behind rushed to her and made her want to cry. She wiped her eyes and looked out of the window again. The sight of the cultured buildings and the horizon leading to the desert made her fume again.

_'Why did we have to come here? There's nothing here but sand!'_ she thought sadly. She growled and quickly slammed the window a bit harder than she intended. Suddenly there was a knock at her door. She turned to meet eyes with her mother, Sumie who had peeked her head into the room. Still dressed in her red flannel pajamas, the tan woman stepped in and shut the door behind her. "Ah Mimiki, you're awake. I was wondering what that sound was."

"Yeah...sorry mom. I didn't mean to slam my window shut. I've been awake for a while now…" Her mother looked at her worryingly as she brushed her chocolate hair behind her ear. She then noticed that Mimiki had unpacked all of her belongings.

"I see you've finished unpacking. Great job, sweetie! You did it a lot faster than I thought you would." she said with a small smile.

"Uh huh…yeah…I did just a few minutes ago." she replied while looking away and twiddling her thumbs. Sumie picked up on her tone and behavior. She quickly took a seat on her bed and motioned for her to sit with her. As Mimiki joined her, she wrapped an arm around her and started to speak.

"Mimiki…I know that this is hard for you. Moving overseas is never easy." Hearing her mother's words wasn't easy and made her glassy eyed again.

"But why here?! We're so far away from Japan! Grandma, my friends…everyone...everything!" she said burying her head into her mother's shirt. Her mother rubbed Mimiki's hair gently as she started to cry.

"I know, I know, but your father is here on business. It's only for a year. I'll be over before you know it. Then we'll be back in Japan."

Mimiki remained silent and Sumie rubbed her back. "I miss it too, honey. The bright side to this is you'll learn another language and get to have experiences that other kids haven't had. This is important to your father, so let's support him all we can, okay? You know we're here whenever you need to talk." she said with a smile. Mimiki looked up at her with her big blue eyes, her mother gently wiped her tears away.

"After breakfast, why don't we go down to the markets? We'll do a little shopping. Maybe we'll find something interesting there. Does that sound good?" Mimiki nodded in agreement and smiled. A girl could always use some retail therapy to clear her mind. "It's a date!"

"Good, good. There's that smile that I know and love. We'll leave soon, so get ready okay?" Mimiki nodded. "Okay."

Her mother left and closed the door behind her. Mimiki got ready and joined her family for breakfast. Her father, Masahiro, helped Sumie serve the meal. Masahiro was the tall, solid tan man of the house. Mimiki's younger siblings had beat her to the table and the kids slowly ate their meals. Her younger sister, Mika was drained from the move and was drifting in and out of sleep. The middle child, Makoto, was in his own world as he picked at his food. Masahiro noticed the silence and decided to speak.

"So Mimiki, I heard that you and your mother were going to the markets today. That sounds fun! It'll be nice to explore the town a bit before you start school next week." he said trying to lighten up the mood. Mimiki nodded as she took another bite of her food. "Mom thinks that we'll find something interesting there. Maybe I'll find a nice piece of jewelry!"

Her brother let out a loud laugh that woke Mika up. "You girls and your jewelry!" her little brother chimed in. "Is that you all care about?" Mimiki decided to ignore her brother and continued to eat. She was hoping to get out of the house as quickly as possible.

"Of course we care about jewelry Makoto!" Mika spat. "All princesses need their jewelry to become extra pretty, right Mimi?" the four year old asked with a smile. Mimiki returned her smile and patted her on her head. "That's right, Mika. I'll make sure to find something to make me extra pretty."

"If you don't find anything, you can take something from my box of jewels to make you extra, extra pretty!" Mimiki laughed at her sister's innocence. "I'll remember that. Thanks Mika." The adults smiled at the children. The air seemed a little lighter now.

After eating breakfast, Mimiki and Sumie headed to the market. The stalls were filled many exotic and beautiful products, none that Mimiki had ever seen before. Her mother saw her amazement and smiled. She gave Mimiki some money to add to her allowance. "Thank you mom!"

"Now don't spend it all in one place." she joked.

"I won't!" Mimiki said smiling. _'I won't try to, anyways.'_ she thought.

"Now I'm also going to do a little grocery shopping after I take a look around. We'll meet back here in a couple of hours, okay?" Mimiki nodded and the two went their separate ways.

_______________________________________________

Down below the desert sands, someone wanted to experience the surface world. He desired to see it at least once before he assumed his responsibility as tomb keeper. He sat in his bed while he read his scriptures. He sighed as he looked up to the stone ceiling and placed his book on his lap.

_'I wonder what it really is like up there…'_ he thought.

When he walked around the tomb and reached a skyline, he could see the blue sky and its various stages. Sometimes it'd be a bit windy and he could smell the fresh desert air. It was like that skyline kept telling him that he was a trapped rat; a rat to forever live in his dark, underground crypt and never being able to reach out to the hope and freedom it held above. Thinking of that made him a bit depressed, but it made his desire to see the surface world grow even stronger. His thoughts were finally interrupted by his older sister.

"Marik," she called. His face lit up as he looked up at her and sat his book to the side. "Ishizu, sister!"

"What are you doing? Are you studying your scriptures?" the raven haired girl asked as she sat beside him. "Yeah…I'm just taking a break." he replied as he looked up again. Ishizu looked up to where her baby brother was staring at: nothing but a stone ceiling. She looked back at him and worried over her brother. She had noticed that he had been acting like this for a while now.

Ishizu took a deep breath before speaking. "What are you thinking about?"

She had a good feeling about knowing what he was thinking about and she was hoping that it really wasn't what she thought it was. They've had this conversation many times before and she managed to shut him down about it, but his desire seemed to grow more and more. "I was thinking about—"

"The surface world again?" she asked, cutting him off. Marik looked at her worryingly as Ishizu glared at him.

"Marik…" she said in a motherly tone as Marik turned away from her. "I know, I know. I can't go up to the surface. It's forbidden for us to go up there. You say it all of the time." he said in a disappointed tone.

Ishizu smiled at his understanding. "That's right! You're a—"

"Tomb keeper. I know." he said, rolling his lavender eyes. Ishizu's smile transformed into a glare as she looked at him again. "Marik! Stop—"

"Back talking! I know!" Ishizu gnashed her teeth. It was times like this that he managed to piss her off. Unfortunately for her, because of his desires to go above the tomb, he was becoming more irritating. The two sat in silence for a minute before Marik turned to her.

"Please Ishizu! Just this once! Take me to the surface!" be begged loudly. Ishizu placed a finger over her mouth, giving a quick "sshh" sound.

"Lower your voice, Marik!" she scolded. She looked back towards his door to see if she could hear any footsteps. Luckily, none were heard and she sighed in relief.

"It's too dangerous! Father will be furious if he found out! You know how much he hates the surface world! We'll be in big trouble!" she whispered. Their father, the head of the Ishtar clan, was a strict man. He was loyal to his duty and was determined to make sure that his offspring would understand their role and perform it without any distractions. His main concern was for his children. He didn't want them to be involved with the surface dwellers, who he thought lived too carefree lives and didn't know much about discipline and duty. The Ishtar clan was forbidden to dwell among them unless it was for survival related issues, such as for gathering food and medical supplies, but anything other associations was strictly prohibited.

Marik was the heir to the Ishtar clan and was seen as the most valuable asset to continue on their ancient duty to protect the pharaoh's tomb and memories until his return. Mr. Ishtar kept a tight leash on Marik by making him study the ancient Egyptian texts and making sure that he was well taken care of. Marik knew that his father and other clan members would take short trips to the surface to run errands and always dreamed of going with them, but his father never allowed it.

Marik quickly grabbed his sister's hand with a pleading look in his eyes. "Please sister! Please! Just this once! I won't ask again!"

"No, Marik!" she tried to yell as quietly as she could. Marik quickly looked down, feeling defeated. Ishizu felt sorry for him, but she was doing this for his own good. She knew that he was resenting his role as a tomb keeper at the tender age of 13, especially after he received the tomb keepers initiation a year ago. He had the pharaoh's memories carved into his back with a scorching knife while being bound and gagged. She could still remember his blood curdling screams during the procedure and felt great sympathy for her little brother. He was in a great deal of pain afterwards and was very hostile after the whole ordeal.

Ishizu couldn't blame her brother for wanting to see what life was like outside the tomb. She often wondered how it would be as well, beyond the entrance that lead to their home. She would occasionally sneak up there at night while everyone was asleep. She admired how beautiful the desert looked as the moon shined brightly in the sky as she breathed in the fresh air. Ishizu would see the city border in the distance and wanted to visit, but never had the courage to step more than a few footsteps away from the tomb's entrance in fear out being caught by their raging father.

Suddenly, another person interrupted their silence. A taller boy in his early twenties, Odion, slipped into the room. His golden eyes held a gentle kindness in them and one of his cheeks had ancient writing on it. Although he was in his early twenties, his head was mostly shaven bald, except for the small ponytail he had at the back of his head. Mr. Ishtar had commanded him to be Ishizu and Marik's care taker and protector, as he was adopted into the Ishtar clan by their late mother. Unfortunately, Mr. Ishtar never accepted him to be a true Ishtar, but Marik and Ishizu had always considered him to be their older brother.

"Miss Ishizu, please allow Master Marik go to the surface." he requested. "Surely one trip shouldn't hurt. I'll make sure that the Master isn't aware of your absence. He just retired to his chambers to rest and said that he wished to not be disturbed. Hopefully he will stay in there for a while. I'll take care of everything, I promise."

They both turned to Odion in alarm. The two siblings let a out a heavy sigh and was glad that their father didn't hear their conversation. Odion loved his siblings greatly and especially wanted Marik to experience this. He just wanted him to be happy. Marik was happy that at least one person understood how he felt.

"I don't know Odion...it might be too risky." Ishizu replied. "You know how father can be."

Marik grew worried that this chance would escape and grabbed his sisters' hands. "Come on! Please?" he begged. "You promised me a long time ago that you'd take me with you one day! Why can't that day be today? I just want to live like a normal person for once!" he complained. "Odion said that he will cover for us! We'll be fine!"

Ishizu sighed. She was clearly outvoted and Marik's pleading puppy dog eye stare started to bore into her soul. 'I hope that I won't regret this.' she thought.

"Fine, Marik. Since it means so much to you and Odion has agreed to cover for us, we can go."

Marik's face lit up as he hugged her. "Thank you Ishizu!"

She gave him an unnerving hug in return. "We're only staying out for a short time, one hour only. When I say it's time to return, we have to leave. After this, you have to promise not to talk about this again."

Marik nodded quickly in excitement. "I promise!"

Ishizu stood up and turned towards the door. "Come, Marik. We should leave immediately while father is locked away in his chambers."

Marik quickly jumped up and followed her to the entrance. He couldn't wait to see how it really was. Odion bid them a quiet adieu and prepared to cover their absence.

_'I'm so happy! Nothing could go wrong! Yes...nothing could go wrong…'_ Marik thought.

_______________________________________________

Ishizu and Marik had finally reached the markets that were at the outskirts of the city. Marik stared in amazement with a wide smile. He had never seen so many people at once before. Ishizu was also amazed at the amount of people and the hustle and bustle of the stalls, but she tried to hide her emotions from Marik. She didn't want to risk getting him too excited.

"Wow! Look at all the people Ishizu! I've never seen so many people before!"

Ishizu's features didn't change. "I can see that Marik. Remember, this isn't our world, so don't get attached. Keep on walking and don't touch anything!" she scolded.

"I won't!" he said in a disregarding tone as he kept peering into various stalls. Ishizu let out a heavy sigh of regret. _'What have I agreed to?'_

As the two siblings explored the market, Mimiki had just purchased a necklace with a blue moonstone pendant and a bottle of Egyptian lotus perfume. They had caught her eye immediately, noting that the stone almost matched her eyes and the perfume was to her liking — fresh and light. She quickly sprayed some on her and then continued to walk as she examined the pendant more closely, unaware of where she was walking.

_'I should've bought that other one, too. I had enough money left...maybe I'll wait until I get my next allowance.'_ she thought. All of a sudden, her concentration was broken by a sudden yelp. She stepped on something hard, yet firm. She looked down to find a tan hand under her black flat.

Mimiki shrieked and quickly moved her foot. Marik quickly retracted his hand and tried to rub the pain away. "I'm-I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! I didn't mean to—" Then she noticed the magazine that was under his hand. "And I stepped on your book! I'm so sorry!"

Marik stood up, looked at her and gasped. All of a sudden, he felt heat rush to his cheeks. _'Wow...she's beautiful…'_ he thought. Mimiki was dressed in a sleeveless black shirt and a pink skirt with three big black buttons on them. She was unaware that he was staring at her while she picked up what she thought to be his now soiled magazine.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay? I'm sorry that I soiled your magazine! I'll buy you another one! Is that okay with you?"

Marik kept staring at her, unable to look away. He wasn't used to seeing other girls, especially around his age. Her blue eyes, long dark brown hair and the scent of her perfume had him smitten. He also found her foreign clothes interesting and colorful.

"Um...hello? Is that okay with you?"

Marik quickly snapped out of his trance. He fidgeted around in nervousness, not knowing how to react to her. "Um...um...well...eh…" he muttered as he became quiet. _'Come on, Marik! She's just another girl, just like your sister! Talk to her!'_

Mimiki looked at him weirdly. No boy that she'd ever known had acted like this around her. He was nothing compared to the boys that used to pick on her back home. Silence fell between them and time seemed to stop for Marik until Mimiki spoke up.

"Are you okay?"

Marik instantly became more nervous and stammered again. "I-I-I…I'm okay!"

Mimiki handed him the dirty magazine and he quietly took it from her. "I could buy you another one…"

"No, it's okay. It's not mine. It was on the ground and I was just picking it up." Marik then looked into the magazine, admiring the exciting articles and photos. "Wow this isn't like my scriptures at all! This thing looks cool!" he said with a big smile. A certain picture quickly caught his eye.

"What is this? Do you know?" he asked pointing at the picture.

Mimiki stood closer to him and looked at the picture and then stared at him in confusion. _'How could he not know what a motorcycle is?'_ she thought.

"It's a motorcycle...you ride it and it can go really fast. This one looks like it's a brand new model. You've never seen one before? Not even on TV?"

"What's a TV?" he quickly asked in confusion. "I've never heard of that before."

Mimiki was really confused now. _'Where has this kid been living? Under a rock or something?'_ she thought. She decided not to ask him that in such a rude manner.

"You've never heard of a TV before? Do your parents not allow you to watch TV or something?" she asked inquisitively. "You have to at least have one TV in your house. How would your parents watch the news? Do they at least let you watch that? My mom wants me to watch the news more, but I'd rather watch cartoons and anime instead!"

Marik started to panic at her questions and didn't know how to answer them. He didn't expect to meet anyone his age on the surface and if he did, not this quickly either. She quickly started asking him more questions.

"You said earlier that you read scriptures? You mean like Egyptian hieroglyphics or history books or something? What rock have you been living under? Or is that just a hobby of yours?"

"What do you mean? No, I've never seen a TV before and I don't live under a rock. I live underground."

Mimiki couldn't believe what she was hearing. This kid was acting too weird for her, but she was becoming a bit intrigued with his answers. "Are you serious…? You live underground…?"

Marik smiled playfully. "Why yes! I have a role as a tomb keeper and—"

"No Marik! That's our family secret!" Ishizu called out to him. She quickly appeared behind them and was slightly winded. The two turned to her and saw the look of anger on her face. Marik cursed mentally. _'I think that I've said a little too much...please don't be too mad at me, sister!'_

"Marik! I've been looking everywhere for you! You're not supposed to run off like that!" he scolded.

_'Okay...she's only a bit angry. I can handle that.'_ he thought. "I'm sorry Ishizu. I was just talking to this girl and—"

"And I think that our time is up! We need to leave now Marik. I think that you have said too much!" she said dragging him away from Mimiki. He kept looking back and forth between the two girls in despair. He didn't want to leave just yet.

"But sister —" he protested.

"But no, Marik!" she spat. "We've been out long enough! It's time to return home!"

Mimiki watched as Ishizu dragged Marik away. Her curiosity was officially sparked. She had never met anyone like him before. The way his sister dragged him away and his talk about being a tomb keeper added to her curiosity. Even the color of his hair intrigued her.

_'It must be a big secret if she yelled at him like that. What's a tomb keeper and why would he keep a tomb?'_ she thought. After a minute or so after they left, she started to follow after them.

At the end of the market, Ishizu finally released Marik's wrist from her iron grip and faced him angrily. "Marik you're impossible! You're not supposed to say things that relate to our lives as tomb keepers!" she said harshly.

"I'm sorry sister, but she seems so nice and pretty...and I like her. I want to be friends with her..." he admitted while looking away from her for a moment. "Can't I have a friend, even if it's just one? I promise that I won't tell father!"

Ishizu stopped for a minute and analyzed him. He was already getting attached to the outside world, which she anticipated there would be a slight attachment, but she didn't anticipate him meeting a girl his own age that he'd start to take a liking to.

_'Now he's starting to get attached to that girl. This turned out worse than I thought! We have to get home!'_ she thought.

She ignored his plea and started walking towards the tomb. "Walk faster Marik." she commanded.

"Wait Ishizu!" he called out as he caught up to her with the magazine in hand. "If I can't have a friend, then can I at least take this picture of the motorcycle home with me? I promise that I'll hide it from father."

Ishizu didn't feel like arguing with him. She was panicking that their time was running short and that their father might leave his chambers soon. She didn't want to put Odion in any more danger that he could potentially be in if they were caught. "Alright, you can keep it, but just keep on walking!"

Marik tore the picture out and placed it in his pocket. "Thank you sister!" he said happily.

Suddenly a tall, tan man in a turban had appeared before wore an item that appeared to be an ankh with a key-like design around his neck. His blank stare from his big blue eyes sent chills down their spines.

"Tomb guardians...you have strayed off your path. Your fate has caught up with you. Soon blood will spill upon blood and your clan will be torn apart in tragedy. It is the will of the Pharaoh…" he warned.

The two siblings looked at him in shock and then at each other. "Who...are you?! How do you know about us?!" Ishizu asked.

When they looked again, he was gone. Ishizu quickly turned to Marik in frustration and worry. "Marik! Forget everything that you saw today! Just forget that today ever happened! That man too and especially that young girl!"

"But sister, what was that man talking about? And what about that item around his neck? I looks like one of the items that our family protects…"

Ishizu looked at him in frustration and growled. _'I never should've never agreed to bring him here! What was I thinking?!'_

"Didn't I just tell you to forget everything you saw and heard today?! We're going home now!" she yelled.

Marik looked at her sadly. "Yes sister…I'm sorry..."

Mimiki kept a safe distance away from them. She saw them walk back into the desert towards some ruins and looked back to the market. She glanced at the clock on her cell phone and back and forth at them again.

_'It'll just be for a little while…I'll be back before I have to meet up with mom. This is just too interesting to pass up. After all, they say that knowledge is power!'_ she thought as her excuse to be nosy.

_'I'll just take a quick peek and leave...it's no harm…right?'_


	2. Fear

Mimiki carefully followed Marik and Ishizu back to their home. As Ishizu quietly opened the doors, Marik stared out into the horizon. He was sad that his experience on the surface was so short. Everything was better than he imagined. He walked towards a nearby short stone wall slab and sat on it as if he imagined riding that motorcycle in the wind, seeing the world, trying new and exciting things. He'd ride forever out of the darkness with no one to control him; not his father, not the tomb keeper's legacy and definitely not some dumb pharaoh. He also didn't expect to meet someone else that he would immediately become smitten with and blushed again as he thought about her.

He had seen all of these wonderful things and now he had to forget them all? His heart started to feel heavy again. _'What a horrible life we have to live...'_

"Okay Marik, let's hurry and get inside." Ishizu instructed.

Marik didn't hear her as he was still staring towards the market. He looked around to other parts of the desert. _'No matter how long I live, as long as I'm a tomb keeper, I'll never be able to be free and ride out of this darkness with my only light of lamps and candles…and I'll never see her again either...'_ he thought sadly.

"Marik!" she said, trying her best not to scream his name. He turned to her quickly. "Let's go!" she stressed as she pointed underground.

He quickly joined her and started walking down the stairs. Before Ishizu could close the doors, Marik looked up and saw something strange. "Hey Ishizu, what's that? That thing hanging on the wall?"

Ishizu looked up and gasped. Her body started to shake in fear. _'No, no, no, no, no, no!'_

She panicked and ran down the stairs quickly, leaving Marik behind.

"Sister where are you going?! Wait for me! Is father going to be angry with us?"

Marik hurried and ran after her, forgetting to close the doors behind him. Mimiki quickly ran up to the entrance and looked down inside. It was pretty dark and quiet. After gathering her nerves, quickly pulled out her cell phone and used it as a flashlight. She took a deep breath and descended underground.

Ishizu ran quickly to everyone's bedrooms, finding them all in shambles. She cursed inwardly and instantly regretted their trip. Her thoughts were interrupted by Odion's agonizing screams. She then ran to another part of the compound where their family treasures were stored. Marik caught up with her to find Odion tied up with burn and whip marks all over his back. Blood stained his clothing and at that point, he had been beaten severely. Once Marik had finally caught up with her, his eyes widened in horror and he felt sick to his stomach. He never meant for this to happen to his older brother.

"Odion!" Marik screamed.

The father Ishtar finally noticed his children in the doorway. His grip on his knife tightened at the sight of them. He'd be sure to teach them all a lesson. He was elated that he now had a reason to kill Odion. He hated him since the day his wife brought him into the Ishtar family as an infant and only allowed him to stay to appease his late wife, but now that she was dead and he went against his duty to protect Marik, all bets were off.

"Ishizu! Marik! How nice of you to finally join us! You thought you could sneak out, huh?" he said as he placed his knife into the nearby fire pit. He smiled as the dagger's blade turned red.

"Because of what you've done, Odion has to leave...permanently!" he said, happily stressing the last word. "I will kill this unworthy man first...and I'll punish you both later! You'll never have another thought of the surface world to cross your minds ever again!"

Odion was weak from his injuries, but he gathered enough strength to look at Marik. His eyes held a look of sadness and failure. "I'm sorry Master Marik...I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you...or let you carry out your wish in peace..."

The father Ishtar quickly cut him again with those words. Odion screamed again as the two siblings gasped. "Marik! Ishizu! How dare you!" he roared. "You know it's forbidden to go the outside world! You've broken the law of the Ishtar clan! You're not apart of that world and you will never be! Now because of your insolence, Odion has to die! You'll never leave here again! That decision is final!"

Then he turned to Odion and sliced into him again. Odion screamed in agony as the onslaught continued and looked weakly at the elder Ishtar as he grabbed him by the collar of his torn and bloody clothing.

"Have you forgotten that we saved you from the streets?! Have you forgotten your place?! You're just a mere servant, you piece of shit! You're supposed to serve and protect them and you can't even do that right! You shall die for your sins!"

Marik's body started shaking. Many emotions rushed in him - fear, anger, despair, hopelessness. He couldn't take it anymore. He felt like a trapped bird. The darkness was closing in on him quickly as he cried. "ODION!" he screamed. He tried to stop his father, but he overpowered him and shoved him away. Ishizu ran over to him to check on him.

Mimiki gasped when she heard Marik's cry. She followed his cry and the screams until she reached the chamber. She peaked in and gasped in horror at the site before her. Her body instantly froze when their father heard her gasp as he looked at her. His blood boiled even more as she clearly wasn't a part of any clan that they associated with. Her clothes and her facial features were a dead giveaway of that. "So you brought a friend, huh?"

Marik and Ishizu turned to find Mimiki still frozen in fear. Now they feared for her.

"How dare you bring an outsider into our home! You've shown her too much! Now she must die!" he said as he placed his knife into the fire again before turning to Marik. "Then it's your turn Marik! You'll never disobey me again!"

He started to head towards Mimiki with a rushed pace. Mimiki was still frozen in fear and screamed as Marik turned to his father. _'I never should've came down here!'_

"I'm sorry! I'll leave! Please don't hurt me! I promise that I'll forget everything I just saw!" she cried.

Her words fell on deaf ears as he pointed the hot knife at her. She quickly dodged out of his way when he lunged at her. "Come here, you insolent brat!"

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Marik screamed in protest.

The scene of horror before him started to resonate in his soul and the straw broke the camel's back. Suddenly Marik started hold his head in pain and started breathing heavily. Ishizu tried to tend to him until she heard a low chuckle. She noticed that his hair now spiked upwards and pointed in all directions as he stood up. His eyes were blank and his lips curled up into a wicked smile. On the other side of the room, Mimiki was quickly caught by Mr. Ishtar by her arm.

"Please! Let me go!" she cried. He didn't respond as he almost plunged the dagger into her chest. Mimiki closed her eyes and screamed and waited for the impact that never came.

Before he knew it, Mr. Ishtar found himself on the ground. His dagger flew across the room into an empty corner. He looked around him to find Marik standing before him with his hands balled into a fist. Mimiki opened her eyes and stared at Marik in relief. She thought that she was out of the woods, but she had a feeling that something was wrong due to his appearance.

"Thank you for saving me." she said quietly. "I'll leave now since that is what this man wants. I'm sorry!"

Before she could make one step, Marik's cold laugh filled the chamber as everyone stared in disbelief. Mr. Ishtar grew irritated at his son's attempt to stop him.

"Stop laughing right now! This isn't funny! Do you not know what crime you've committed today Marik?! You brought an outsider down here and you attempted to stop me?! I'll skin your ass, boy!" he threatened.

"I'm done…" the young Ishtar said.

"What did you say boy?!" his father asked with narrowed eyes.

Marik shot him a look of defiance. "I'm done with you...I'm done with this life! I'm not afraid of you anymore! Not one bit! But thanks for killing Odion father! I feel great now!"

Everyone stared at him in confusion. His voice also sounded more cruel. "What? Marik are you okay? What's wrong with you?!" Ishizu asked.

Everyone had wondering the same thing. He ignored her and walked towards a table. They held two golden items that were adorned with the eye of Anubis on it, a rod with wing like appendages and a necklace.

"Marik don't touch the millennium items! You will inherit them when the time is right!" his father shouted.

Marik ignore him and grabbed the rod. The eye shined and appeared on his forehead. He chuckled as he felt the power of the rod surge within him. He finally turned to his father without an ounce of fear in his eyes.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?! Ha! That's a laugh!" he said. "From now on, this belongs to me! You need to shut the hell up you old bastard! I'm making my own rules."

"Marik! I order you to put that back down! Immediately!"

Marik looked at him in disgust. Who in the hell did this man think he was? He had enough of his barking. "And if I don't?"

Mr. Ishtar felt like he was going insane. Marik never disobeyed him until today and he had no idea where he got the gall to do so. He would regain control of the situation if it was the last thing he'd ever do. "Marik, drop it now!"

Marik gnashed his teeth and pointed the rod towards his father. "Didn't I tell you to shut the hell up?!"

The magic from the rod sent his father flying across the room and a yellow aura pinned him to the wall. Dull pain flooded his body as he looked up weakly. "My son...what has become of you…?"

Ishizu then tried to intervene, although she was scared. "Marik stop this at once! Don't you see what you're doing?"

"This doesn't concern you Ishizu!" Marik turned the rod on her as well and sent her flying into the wall just like their father. Ishizu tried to free herself in vain before she lost consciousness.

"You're...not Marik…" she muttered as he smiled. "Very perceptive."

He started to walk to his father, unsheathing the bottom half of the millennium rod, exposing its sharp six inch dagger. "Father...you'll be the first to die by my hand! You will no longer have any control over me! Go to hell!"

Marik then proceeded to stab his father relentlessly. Mimiki screamed in horror. How could a simple day at the market turn into her witnessing an assault and a murder? What happened to that nice yet clueless boy she met not too long ago? Everything was overwhelming her as hot tears flowed rapidly from her eyes. After he felt like the job was finished, Marik turned to Mimiki and smiled at her, taking in her fear. He could taste it on his lips and smiled evilly.

"Hmm...I forgot that quickly that you were here. You'll be joining my father too!"

Mimiki screamed again and tried to run away. Before she could turn the corner out of the room, Marik quickly used the power of the rod to bring her back into the room and examined her closely, cupping her chin and moving it from side to side with his free hand.

"Hmm...you're a pretty girl...but like my father said, you've seen too much and that means you have to die!"

"Please, no! Stop!" Mimiki pleaded, stinging tears continuing to fall quickly.

Marik used the rod again and slammed her against the wall. Her body made a hard thud against the wall and she passed out. He walked slowly towards her, smiling at the the thought of his next kill. But then he remembered something — the one thing that was keeping him from living. He turned to Odion's motionless, bloodied body and turned back to Mimiki.

_'I'll kill her after he's been disposed of!'_ He walked over to Odion and held the dagger over his head and smiled.

"Enjoy Hell Odion!" he said laughing loudly. Unbeknownst to him, Odion was regaining consciousness and opened his eyes.

"DIE!" he screamed. Before he could kill him, Odion regained full consciousness.

"Master Marik...! NO!"

Marik dropped the rod and fell to the ground. Ishizu and Mimiki also fell to the floor with a hard thud and his hair returned to normal. Marik looked around in confusion. "Wh-what happened?"

Odion gathered enough strength and jumped up quickly and tried to shield Marik from the bloody scene. "Master Marik! Don't look!"

Marik questioned Odion's request and quickly turned around to find his father dead. "FATHER!" he screamed. He broke out of Odion's hold and ran over to him with tears in his eyes. He hugged him as his blood stained his clothes and he sobbed heavily. "FATHER! FATHER! Father…!"

Odion couldn't watch as Marik mourned over his father's death. Ishizu woke up immediately after falling to the ground and took in her surroundings. She couldn't believe what had happened. She saw Mimiki was still unconscious on the ground and ran to her side. Ishizu let out a sigh of relief when she saw the young girl's chest move up and down. _'Good...she's still alive.'_

Ishizu then looked at her brother and father and guilt overcame her. Once again, the mysterious man from before appeared before them and everyone focused their attention on him.

"I warned you tomb guardians that your sin would bring great tragedy upon your family. The thing that brought death to your father is the pharaoh's spirit…" he said as he disappeared quickly after.

_'The pharaoh's spirit?'_ Marik thought.

Marik clinched his father's lifeless body. He would avenge his death. He laid him down and went to Odion's side after retrieving the dagger. He quickly cut the ropes that bound his hands.

"Are you alright, Odion?"

Odion smiled and rubbed his wrists. "Yes Master Marik, but the young girl…" he said looking over to the girls. "What girl?"

Marik turned to find Ishizu holding Mimiki. "It's that girl from the surface! How did she get down here?! I had forgotten that she was here!" he said as he ran over to them.

"She must've followed us Marik. She saw what happened. I believe that she passed out from the shock." Ishizu replied.

Marik looked down at her and pushed her spiky bangs away from her eyes as she slept soundly. He thought back to the market when he first met her and how beautiful she was. He began to blush again. Soon afterwards, she started groaning.

"She's waking up!" Marik said.

Mimiki's eyes shot open and she jumped up quickly. She looked around and fear began to take over again, her body started shaking uncontrollably.

"Are you okay?" Marik asked.

Mimiki quickly remembered what happened. She saw the blood that stained his clothes and backed away from him. "Stay away from me! Leave me alone!" she commanded. She placed her arms and out the front of her to shield herself.

Marik was taken aback by her behavior towards his offer to help her. "Please let me help you." he said as he reached out for her. She quickly swatted his hand away and gave him an intense expression of anger. She didn't want him to know how scared she really was.

"I told you to stay away from me!" She shoved him and ran for her life. Marik looked at her fleeting form sadly.

_'What happened? Now she's afraid of me…I didn't do anything wrong...'_ Marik's thoughts soon shifted to anger as he came to a conclusion. _'It's the pharaoh's fault! He took my father away from me and now because of his death, I'll never see him or that girl ever again! Why did my family pledge to serve him?!'_

Marik lowered his head in anger. Then something shiny caught his eye. He picked it up and examined it further. "A necklace…where have I seen this before?" He quickly smiled. Maybe he'll see her again after all.

____________________________________

Mimiki quickly ran from the tomb and back to the market, slipping and tripping in the sand along the way. She stopped to catch her breath next to a stall. She became really sick and confused. Luckily for her, her mother found her minutes later and took her home. She quickly took refuge in her room and let sleep envelope her, locking away the events that she witnessed that day.


	3. Trust

Mimiki slept deeply for a long time that night, so long that she had skipped lunch and dinner. Her family became concerned about her health. They figured that she hadn't completely adjusted to the time difference yet since they had only been living there for one week. It was also a lot hotter than they were accustomed to, so they also assumed heat might've been a big factor as well. They checked up on her, making her drink water periodically to keep her hydrated. But even after she consumed the water, sleep was still the victor.

The sun peeked through her curtains the next morning. She turned over and opened her eyes slowly. She laid there for a while as she tried to mentally wake up. She sat up in a daze and rubbed her eyes. She noticed that she still had her clothes on from the day before.

 _'Why do I still have my clothes on? Did I fall asleep while watching TV?'_ she thought.

Her hair was shambles and she felt dirty. She decided to get up and shower. After freshening up, she combed part of her hair into two buns and let the rest flow down her back. She grabbed a pair of white shorts and a blue top from her dresser. As she got dressed, she tried to remember what had happened the day before, but for some reason she couldn't remember.

_'Mom and I went to the market...we separated and I bought…'_

Nothing was coming to mind at the moment until she looked on top of her dresser. She had a couple of perfume bottles sitting beside a stuffed bear.

_'Perfume...ah yes! My lotus perfume!'_

She quickly rummaged through her bag and found the perfume. She smiled and sprayed some on her wrist. She inhaled the scent and felt more relaxed and let out a deep breath. She sprayed more on around her neck and placed the bottle on her dresser. She looked in the mirror to make sure she was presentable. Hair and clothes were in order and her tan skin was perfectly moisturized. She smiled softly as everything checked out. Her eyes roamed to her chest. Something was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The faint smell of breakfast entered her room and made her stomach grumble. She decided to forget about it and went downstairs. She was sure that she would remember what she had forgotten after she had some food to eat.

___________________________________________

Marik tossed and turned in his bed. He was still in shock from the day before. His father was dead and he understood that it was the pharaoh's fault. He was angry. Now he didn't have a mother or a father. His anger subsided when he thought about how he met a beautiful girl who lived on the surface and he still didn't know her name. She intrigued him and he wanted to know more about her and her world. She seemed to be knowledgeable about the things he was interested in and although he hated to admit it, his father wasn't there to stop him from leaving the tomb anymore. The clan seemed to be in a disarray now that he was dead. Marik thought about going out and trying to find her, but after yesterday's events, she seemed really frightened by him and he couldn't understand why. He balled his sheets in his fist.

_'But how can I see her again? She could be anywhere…and even if I did see her again, what would I say to her?'_

He sat up and looked at his desk. When he saw her necklace, he remembered that she had dropped it after she ran away. He grabbed the jewelry and prayed that the necklace would give him an opportunity to see her again. He hoped that she would accept him although he was so different from her. Marik prepared himself for the rest of the day. He was determined to see her again. He walked past Odion's room on his way to the entrance. He was still sleeping and Ishizu was still sleeping by his bedside. Marik took this opportunity to try to find her. As he walked up the stairs to the outside, his legs trembled a little as he remembered back to yesterday, but he threw his fear aside. He would make sure that nothing bad happened this time.

___________________________________________

Mimiki's footsteps were heard as she walked downstairs. Her family quickly met her at the bottom of the stairs. "Mimiki you're awake! How are you feeling honey?"

"I'm fine, mom." They all hurried and hugged her.

"We were so worried about you! Especially when your mother said she found you on the ground at the market!" her father said.

Mimiki returned their hugs. "I'm okay, really. Thanks for your concern." As she stayed in their embrace, her mind started wondering. _'I'm okay...right?'_

The silence was broken quickly as Sumie started speaking. "Come now! I bet you're hungry! Let's eat!"

She followed them all to the kitchen. She ate her food slowly, trying her best to remember what happened the day before. Most of it seemed like a blur, as if she didn't want to remember. While getting ready to eat more eggs, she dropped some in her shirt. She quickly cleaned her mess and touched her chest again. She kept touching it and felt like something was missing. Then it finally hit her — the necklace.

_'My necklace! Where's my necklace?'_

She quickly finished her breakfast and headed back to her room. She looked through her bag that she took to the market and searched every pocket.

"It's not here! Did I drop it at the market?"

She closed her eyes as she sat on the floor and tried to remember. Then she remembered the boy she met there. How could she forget him, especially after she accidentally stepped on his hand? When she thought about him again, she remembered his cute lavender eyes and his platinum blonde hair. Along with his lack of knowledge of the modern world, she couldn't figure out how she could forget such a person like him.

_'I must've dropped it there after I met him! I hope it's still there…'_

She grabbed her bag and ran out the door before her parents could say anything. She just had to have her necklace back.

___________________________________________

Marik made his way to the market again. He searched around hoping to see Mimiki. So far his search was in vain, but he wouldn't give up; he had to see her again. After a short break, he began to search the stalls again.

Mimiki ran back to the place where she had met Marik and looked for her necklace. Unfortunately for her, it didn't turn up anywhere and she lost a little hope. She grew attached to it pretty quickly. She went back to the stall to buy another one.

"Excuse me, sir. May I buy another moonstone necklace please?" she asked as she pulled her wallet out. The old man looked up at her and smiled.

"Ah, the young lady from yesterday. How are you? Are you happy with your necklace?"

"Yes...but to tell you the truth, I misplaced my necklace. I've been looking for it all day and I can't find it. Is it okay if I buy another one from you?"

The old man's smile transformed into a frown. "I'm sorry young lady, but we're sold out. I sold that last one not too long after you had purchased yours. I don't know when I'll get another shipment at the moment."

Mimiki was heartbroken as she quickly stuffed her wallet back into her bag. "Okay...thank you sir."

The man nodded and she walked away with her head down. She became a little glassy eyed and walked to the edge of the market near the desert. She then sat down on a bench next to a stall and looked out to the desert and brought her knees to her chest.

_'Lost among the desert sands…'_

Marik continued to search for a while. His search was becoming a lot harder than he thought. He never thought that it would be this hard to find a girl, especially with the foreign clothes that she was wearing. He walked to the edge of another part of the market that met with the desert sands. He thought about giving up for now. Ishizu and Odion would surely be waking up soon. Marik sighed and started to walk into the desert. He walked a few feet in and turned back to the market. Then something caught his eye. He saw Mimiki stand up and walk into the crowd.

"Wait!" he yelled.

Mimiki didn't hear him and continued to walk further. She walked faster and faster, wanting to get home before her parents got too worried again. Marik tried to catch up with her, but he lost her in the crowd. He cursed under his breath at his lost chance. He gave up and decided to return home. His heart felt a little crushed. He prayed that he wouldn't miss his chance to see her again.

___________________________________________

Marik arrived back just in time before his siblings awakened. He snuck back into bed and decided to take a nap. The hot desert sun took a toll on him more than he thought it would. Before he fell asleep, he prayed again.

_'Please...give me a sign on where I can see her again!'_

Soon sleep enveloped him and Marik started dreaming immediately. He found himself standing at a small oasis. The full moon was high in the sky, shining brightly on the water's surface.

 _'What am I doing here? Why am I here?'_ he thought.

He looked around and saw Mimiki sitting at the water's edge, curled up into a ball. She was looking up to the sky, admiring the stars. Marik's face instantly lit up. _'It's her!'_

He ran up to her and smiled. He had eye contact with her as she stood up. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Thank you." she said.

Suddenly, Marik jumped up from his slumber.

 _'What a weird dream. What did it mean?'_ he thought.

Marik started to remember what he dreamt about. A feeling of determination came over him. Maybe his prayer was answered after all. He would find out tonight.

___________________________________________

The full moon was high in the sky. The streets were growing quiet as everyone retired for the night. Mimiki sat at her window looking into the night sky. The moon reminded her of her necklace and she released a disappointed sigh. She really wanted her necklace back. Soon everything grew quiet. She still had a lot of energy from sleeping for so long, so she was the only one awake in the house. As she kept looking at the moon, she felt like she had to leave, like she had to escape from her bedroom. She quietly walked downstairs and slipped out of the house. Mimiki walked around aimlessly, just letting her feet take her where she needed to go.

She ended up walking to an oasis nearby. She remembered seeing it when they moved to the town. The moon's light was calming and inviting as it danced on the surface. Mimiki walked up to the water's edge and sat down. The moon and the stars fascinated her and captured her attention. She finally felt some peace.

Marik snuck out once again to find Mimiki. He quietly closed the entrance and walked around until he found the area in his dream. After a short while, he arrived at the oasis. He quickly scanned the area and found his prize.

_'She really is here!'_

She didn't notice him as he walked closer to her.

 _'What would I say to her? She was frightened last time...'_ Marik buried his fears away and tried to trust himself. He could only do the best he could with his very limited knowledge on how to talk to girls. He got closer and she still didn't notice him. Marik decided to break the silence by clearing his throat. Mimiki quickly turned to him and jumped up while letting out a small shriek.

"You're that boy from yesterday!"

Marik smiled at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry if I frightened you."

Mimiki stood quietly for a minute as she calmed down.

"It's okay...I was too interested in my stargazing to notice you. I should be more aware of my surroundings...that's what my parents tell me to do, anyways..." she said as she dusted some sand from her shorts. "So what brings you out here? Did you come here to think too?"

Marik shook his head in disagreement. "No, not really. I was just taking a walk and I ended up here." he lied. He didn't want to tell her about his dream in fear of scaring her away again.

"Oh...yeah I kind of did the same thing. The moon and stars were so pretty that I ended up just sitting here. The moon also reminded me of a necklace that I bought yesterday. I lost it and now I can't find it. He man who sold it to me didn't have anymore left. I'm really disappointed."

Marik felt a little bad for her, but he knew that she'd be happy once it returned it to her.

"Are you talking about this necklace?" he asked as he showed it to her. Mimiki's face lit up instantly.

"My necklace! You found it!" she exclaimed as he handed it to her. She tried to put it on, but had a hard time.

"Here, let me help you."

Mimiki moved her hair out of the way as he clipped the clasp together. "All done."

Mimiki turned to him and smiled sweetly as she touched her necklace. "Thank you."

Marik blushed again. He was happy that he found her again. He found that she was more beautiful in the moonlight.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry!" he said abruptly. Mimiki looked at him weirdly.

"Sorry about what? You didn't do anything wrong. You managed to find my necklace. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not like you stole it from me or something..." she said before giving him a cross look. "You didn't steal it from me, did you?!"

Marik waved his hands in defense! "No, of course not!"

Mimiki giggled. "I know that you didn't. I was just playing around." she admitted. "But seriously, thank you for finding it! I was searching for it once I realized it was missing after I returned from the market with my mom. It was the worst!"

Marik was perplexed at her lack of fear towards him. "So you left from here with your mother? You didn't do anything else afterwards?"

Mimiki shook her head. "Nope. I was really tired and I fell asleep while waiting for my mom to finish shopping. She found me and we went home and I took a really long nap. I just moved here a week ago from Japan. I think that the jet lag caught up to me. Why do you ask?"

_'She doesn't even remember what happened? How strange...maybe it's best if she didn't remember. I don't even want to remember what happened yesterday. I won't tell her about it until I'm ready to deal with my father's death myself.'_

"Oh yes, of course. You're right. Naps are great, aren't they?"

Mimiki giggled again. "Yes, I love a good nap! By the way, what's your name? I don't believe we properly introduced ourselves. My name is Mimiki. Mimiki Minami. Nice to meet you!" she said.

Marik was surprised at how friendly was was. "You want to know my name?" he asked.

Mimiki nodded. "Well, sure! I just can't call you "the boy from the market" now, can I?"

Marik smiled at her comment. "No, I guess that you can't. I'm Marik Ishtar. It's nice to meet you too. You have a pretty name, Mimiki."

"Thank you. You're the first kid I've met here since I moved here. I haven't made any friends yet."

Marik's excitement got the best of him when she quickly asked "Do you want to be friends with me? I don't have any friends."

Mimiki felt sorry for him. She had friends her whole life and couldn't imagine how'd it be if she never had any. "None at all?"

"No. I only have my older brother and sister now." he sad sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I don't mind being your friend. I think that it'll be nice!" she said excitedly. "Friends?" she asked as she held out her hand.

Marik smiled as his heart jumped and he grabbed her hand. His hand felt warm and she felt a feeling of warmth with his handshake, as if she could trust him. Her doubts from yesterday completely vanished. She suddenly wanted to know more about him, especially after hearing some of the things he told her. He also felt a sense of peace with her as well. He instantly trusted her and felt like he could tell her everything...almost everything. He didn't want to bring up yesterday's events. He had to do his best not to tell her. The warm feelings that they shared felt natural, as if they had been friends forever.

"It's getting late. Shall I walk you home?" he offered.

"That would be nice. Thank you."

Marik followed Mimiki back to her house. She released a sigh of relief when she noticed that her family was still asleep. "Well this is my house."

Marik looked at it in amazement. He had never seen a real house before. It was a medium sized two story sandstone colored brick house with a moderate amount of windows. Potted plants sat near the door. The front yard was a bit small, but it blended in nicely with the rest of the quiet neighborhood. Before Mimiki unlocked the door, she turned to Marik. "Come and see me again soon, okay?"

"Sure. I'll be waiting."

Mimiki smiled and waved goodbye as she entered the house. Marik smiled widely as he walked back home. He felt like he could do anything. He was happy to finally have someone to call a friend.

___________________________________________

Marik snuck quietly back into the tomb. He thought he was in the clear as he snuck into bed until an all too familiar voice alarmed him.

"And just where have you been Marik?"

Marik turned around to meet his sister's angry glare. She had been waiting for him once she found out that he was missing for the past hour and a half. She ran herself ragged around the compound to find him. She originally had awoken to fetch a cup of water for herself but had put in on hold. She was running on E and she had the dark circles under her eyes to prove it. He swallowed nervously as she walked towards him with a lamp in hand.

"Big sister! Hello!"

Ishizu glared harder at him. His acting as if he didn't nothing wrong wasn't going to help him this time.

"Don't you "hello big sister" me Marik! You've been gone for a while! We were worried about you! I couldn't find you anywhere! Where have you been?!"

Marik sat up in his bed and fumbled with his fingers to find a way to tell her the truth. He prayed that she didn't get too upset with him considering yesterday's events.

"I'm sorry Ishizu. I went to the surface again…"

Ishizu's eyes widened in surprise with a mix of anger. She almost dropped her lamp. "Again?!"

Marik flinched at her voice. She had yelled a lot louder than he thought.

"I'm sorry sister, but I had to! I had to return Mimiki's necklace to her!"

"Who's Mimiki?" she asked sharply.

"The girl that was here yesterday…" he muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Ishizu's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes held fire now. "Marik! I forbid you to see that girl! She knows too much about us! She could tell anyone! Didn't I tell you to forget everything you saw yesterday?! That included her too!"

Marik felt like his world was about to shatter. "But sister! You don't know her like I do! I feel that I can trust her!" he protested.

Ishizu placed the lamp on his desk and transformed into a dramatic fit.

"Oh yes, of course! You're right, Marik. You do know her a lot better than I do. Please explain how the hell you know her so well when you just met her yesterday! You don't know anything about her except for her name!"

Marik grew angry and growled. "I know enough to know that I can trust her! You can't stop me from seeing her! I'll show you! You'll see!" he yelled as he buried himself in his sheets.

"Marik!" Ishizu exasperated, gritting her teeth. _'Dammit boy!'_

Marik continued to ignore her. Ishizu yelled in frustration and left the room. She would definitely make him understand. Unbeknownst to the siblings, Odion stood outside the room and listened. He managed to get out of bed despite his injuries. Ishizu had tended to them and wrapped him in many bandages. He felt sorry for Marik and wanted to make sure he was happy, especially now that Mr. Ishtar had passed away. He let out a stressed sigh before returning to his room. He decided that he would have to examine this recent development further.


	4. Free

Marik laid in his bed fuming in anger. He was really upset that Ishizu had forbid him from seeing Mimiki. He spent a good time in deep thought about the situation. His frustration led him to fall asleep again and he prayed that he would feel better in the morning. Ishizu returned to her room to think things over. She regretted taking Marik to the surface. He became too attached to that world, but she never expected him to make a friend so quickly and to make things worse, it was a girl. Marik hadn't had much contact with other girls aside for a couple of girls that their father had arranged for him to meet from other clans for marriage purposes, but Marik never showed any interest in them. They only reminded him of the life he had to live as a tomb keeper.

Ishizu was determined to protect her baby brother, so she decided to watch him closely. She decided to retire again for the night. She wanted to get up early in case if Marik tried to sneak out again.

The next morning arrived quickly, but to Marik, it seemed like an eternity, as he was restless all night. Marik quickly jumped out of bed and got ready for the day. The corridors were quiet, so he assumed that Odion and Ishizu were still asleep. He scurried to the entrance with no trouble. As soon as he started to climb those stairs, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him.

"And just where do you think you're going?" a familiar voice asked.

He turned around to be greeted by Ishizu's evil eye. She still had dark circles under her eyes. She had a feeling that Marik would try to sneak out again and kept waking up multiple times during the night until she decided to stay up for the rest of the day. Marik swallowed in fear as his heart dropped. _'And my escape goes straight down the Nile!'_ he thought.

"Good morning big sister!" he said cheerfully.

Once again, Ishizu didn't accept his fake greeting. Marik knew he was in trouble now.

"I was just going to sit out enjoy the morning sun, sister. I remembered that it felt good on my skin so I wanted to relax at the entrance." he said smiling.

Ishizu's facial expression didn't change not one bit. Marik sighed in defeat.

"Go back to bed." she commanded as she pointed him back down the hall.

Marik turned back around and went back into his room. He grunted loudly as he wrapped himself in his sheets and felt like there was no chance of escaping now. He would have to find another opportunity to leave.

Later that night, Marik tried to sneak out again. He managed to get to the entrance again. He looked to see if Ishizu was around again. Luckily for him, she was nowhere in sight. Marik smiled and quickly walked up the stairs.

_'Hopefully Mimiki will be at the oasis again.'_

Soon after he lifted the door, he heard a strange clinking sound accompanied with a loud thud. _'Crap!'_

"Marik Ishtar!" Ishizu's voice rang from afar.

 _'Not again…'_ he groaned.

Ishizu appeared in the same spot that he saw her in that morning. There were no words he could say. He felt stupid for being caught twice in the same day and she wasn't in the mood to argue with him.

_'She's getting better with these traps…'_

Ishizu pointed her finger back towards his room. Marik walked defeated back to his room.

 _'This is going to be harder than I thought…'_ they both thought.

He looked back to the entrance, seeing his freedom disappearing with every footstep. Ishizu saw the look on his face, feeling a little guilty about his sadness. Now that both of their parents had died, she felt fully responsible for her little brother.

_'Mother and father always knew what was best for us and this is best for Marik. I' am doing the right thing...right?'_

___________________________________________

Two weeks passed by since the two had met each other under the moonlight. Marik attempted to sneak out many more times, but was caught by Ishizu. Marik was growing tired of his failed attempts and decided to give up. He sat in his room alone while skimming through his scriptures. At times, he would lose his concentration and forget where he left off, and tried starting over from the beginning. Soon, everything would jumble together and it sparked a bad headache. He grunted as he wrapped one arm around his head to suppress the pain and tossed the book to the corner of his desk. Odion watched him from the other side of the wall. He noticed that Marik's hair started to levitate upwards slightly, but returned to its normal state after a short time. Flashbacks from that awful day started to flood his mind and filled him with concern. He had to talk to Ishizu at once about this.

Back in the city, Mimiki was growing worried about Marik. She had become more lonely as the days went by and was looking forward to spending more time with him if given the chance. Her parents had gotten her several books about Egyptian culture and such, but no book could teach you like a native could. He was her first friend that she made since she had moved there. Sure, there were other kids at her new school, but Marik captured her interest in a way she couldn't explain. She sat at her window, resting her arms and head on the windowsill, staring out to the horizon while an ugly thought crawled into her head.

_'Did he forget about me? I hope not...'_

She closed her eyes sadly and sighed as she thought back to the time when she would return from school and go to the market to see if she could find the young tomb keeper, but of course her efforts were fruitless. A light breeze washed over her she and took a deep breath. After a few moments, she decided to draw. Art was her refuge and it always made her feel better. As she sat on her bed with her supplies, she wished to see Marik again. She let her pencil and her thoughts take over to begin a new masterpiece.

___________________________________________

The moon once again graced the warm Egyptian sky. Marik still sat in his room like the previous nights. He tried to read his scriptures, but was having a hard time focusing. His headache from earlier had subsided, but left a dull ache on his frontal lobe. Marik decided to take a break. He placed the book down and grabbed his most prized possession — the ripped magazine page he found on his trip to the surface. He stared at it in sadness. His wish was to see the world...her world. Marik felt like his freedom was truly out of reach. He buried his head in his arms.

 _'It's all over…'_ he thought.

Odion continued to observe Marik's behavior again. His observations proved disappointing, as the young teen was very unhappy. He could see that Marik's behavior was worse now than before he had the pharaoh's secret burned onto his back. Marik was more irritable and would isolate himself at times, but eventually he'd break down in tears. Odion felt like history was repeating itself again, not to mention this newfound darkness that had emerged...that was another problem within itself. He realized that he was the key to keeping it sealed away, but he knew that he could only protect Marik for so long.

He stood outside Marik's door and peeked inside. Marik was hunched over on his desk with his head buried in his arms. At first, Odion thought that Marik had fallen asleep while studying, but Odion's heart ached for Marik once he heard sniffling coming from the boy. Odion's eyes widened as Marik's hair started to rise a bit. He quickly stepped into the room unnoticed and rubbed his back. His hair returned to normal and Marik quickly looked up to him with his tear strained face.

"Odion…" Marik quickly wiped his tears away. "How are you? Are you feeling better? Shouldn't you still be in bed resting?" he managed to ask with a weak smile.

Odion was still covered in bandages and had some pain that was severe at times, but otherwise he was on the road to a smooth recovery. His wounds had finally started to heal on the surface fairly quickly thanks to Ishizu administering homemade medicines that had been passed down for generations. The Ishtar women were skilled in healing others. The young man returned his smile as he took a seat on the bed.

"Yes Master Marik, I'm recovering just fine. I was feeling stiff, so I decided to take a walk. You know that Miss Ishizu's been assisting me with my recovery."

Marik rolled his eyes at hearing his sister's name. He was still upset with her and avoided most conversation with her.

"Oh...well I'm glad that you're feeling better." he said trying to hide his sadness.

"Master Marik, what is troubling you? If it's concerning my injuries, please don't worry. I'm alright."

Marik shook his head. "No, it's not that! I mean...I'm happy that you're okay now. But…" Marik looked down at the desk and stayed silent until Odion began to pry.

"You know that you can talk to me about anything, Master Marik." he assured him as he placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder.

Marik looked up to him and spilled his thoughts. "Do you remember that girl from the surface?" Odion nodded.

"Well, just when I thought I had a friend, Ishizu won't let me see her anymore. Ishizu thinks that she knows too much about our clan, but I feel like I can trust her. She also won't let me go the surface anymore. It's not fair, Odion!"

Marik curled into a ball and buried his head in his knees. He rubbed Marik's shoulder gently. "Don't worry, Master Marik. I believe that everything will turn out just fine."

Marik looked up to him with a glimpse of hope. Odion smiled and exited the room to go find Ishizu. He walked to Ishizu's room in hopes of convincing her to change her mind, but she wasn't in her room. Odion continued to walk around the compound. After a few minutes, he found Ishizu sitting alone on a slab of stone in the middle of a dark room with her lamp and the moonlight from a skyline keeping her company. She looked up to the skyline as if the moon had her under its spell. He could see that she desired to be apart of that world just as much as Marik did.

_'Hopefully I can make her see the light and fast. I must do this for Master Marik's sake.'_

Odion cleared his throat to break the silence. Ishizu jumped quickly, letting a shriek escape her lips and turned to him. "Odion! You scared me! I didn't expect to see you here. Are you alright? Did you need help with your bandages or need more medication?"

"Thank you for your concern Miss Ishizu, but I'm fine. May I join you?"

Ishizu motioned for him to sit down next to her. Odion tried to make himself comfortable and got straight to the point.

"Miss Ishizu, I saw that you were staring off into the moon's light."

She looked up to the skyline again and invited the moon to dance in her eyes again. "Yes. The moon is beautiful tonight. Don't you agree?"

He looked up to the moon and nodded. "Yes, yes it is. I bet it would be more beautiful if we could go sit elsewhere, like the surface."

Ishizu looked at him unfavorably with narrowed eyes. She knew where this was going. Irritation was starting to make camp quickly in her mind as she groaned. "What are you trying to convey, Odion?"

"I wish that you would allow Master Marik to go to the surface again, to let him be free. He's experienced something he's never had and it's impossible to keep him away from something he's so interested in."

Ishizu sat in silence. He did have a point, but she wanted to protect her brother.

"I know that the girl was an unexpected factor in his experience, but from my observation, she might be a key to keeping his dark side at bay. While he was reading, I noticed that he was in pain and his appearance altered a bit before returning to normal. He hasn't behaved like this until you banned him from the surface."

Ishizu's heart skipped a beat. He had a good point. She didn't want a repeat of him going insane again. Her heart was just floating around in a violent storm.

"Also Miss Ishizu, don't you think that keeping him away from that now, especially after what happened, you're acting just like Master Ishtar? Keeping him chained in the darkness?"

Ishizu's heart sank instantly as a lump formed in her throat. He was right. She was acting just like their late father. She saw what caused their pain and she helped to push it along. She had been taught all of her life that they didn't belong on the surface and with its people; that it was evil and dangerous. Ishizu then saw that her father's teachings were partially incorrect. Yes, it was dangerous due to their lack of knowledge and experiences, but no one from the market had brought harm upon them. Marik even found a friend who welcomed him into her life. Ishizu then felt it was her duty to right her wrongs; she didn't want to become like the man that their father was. She quietly stood up and walked away.

"Miss Ishizu? Miss Ishizu!" he called out to her.

Ishizu continued to walk as he called her name. She made her way to Marik's room to find him sitting up in bed fiddling with his fingers again. Marik noticed her presence and turned away from her before she quickly sat on his bed.

"Marik." Marik didn't want to talk to her at the moment, so he closed his eyes.

"Marik." she called again, stressing his name a bit. The young boy continued to ignore her as his eyes were shut tighter than a sealed tomb.

"Marik, I know that you're upset with me."

 _'Isn't that the understatement of the century…'_ he thought.

"I apologize. I know that you've wanted to see the surface world, and I did too...I still do. I've thought about it and it wasn't fair for me to show you something you've been dreaming of for so long and not let it be apart of your life, especially when you've found something of great value."

Marik turned his head to her in confusion. He hoped that she was going to say what he wanted to hear, but he didn't want to get his hopes up so quickly for them to be shot down. "What are you saying, sister?"

Ishizu sighed and gave him a smile. "I'm saying that I'm granting you the freedom to experience the surface world."

Marik's face lit up brighter than the sun itself. "Really sister? I can? You're not playing a trick on me, are you?"

Ishizu nodded. "I'm telling the truth, little brother."

Marik jumped up and hugged her tightly. "Thank you sister!"

Ishizu returned the hug with a tight one, praying that she made the right choice. She loved her little brother dearly and didn't want any harm to befall him.

"Have fun, but please promise to be careful. I know that you desire friends, but let's start very slowly with just the young girl. She's the only one who knows about us and I'd like to keep it that way until we can figure something out, alright? Promise me?"

"I promise!" he said , giving her one last squeeze.

Marik jumped up quickly and ran off to the oasis. Odion listened until Marik ran out of the room, his presence at the door gone unnoticed by Marik. He had never seen the boy run so fast before, not since he tried to run away from his father to avoid his initiation. Odion enjoyed seeing him happy again. He joined Ishizu by her side and startled her again once he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You did the right thing." he assured her.

She looked up to her older brother with worry. "I hope you're right. These recent events has become so overwhelming. I wish I had all of the answers."

"I know, but this can be a blessing. All of us can figure this out together and start anew as a family, correct?"

Ishizu smiled as their hearts felt light and free.

"Yes...that would be nice."

___________________________________________

Mimiki decided to go to the oasis again. She drew a picture of the night she when to the oasis for the first time. She added two people in it as well, reminding her how she met her first friend under the light of the moon. When she arrived, she looked around in hopes of seeing Marik. A smile crawled onto her face when she saw him in the same spot they met up at two weeks ago.

"Marik!" she yelled as she ran up to him. He quickly turned around and smiled widely.

"Mimiki!"

The two hugged each other tightly.

"Where have you been? I thought that you had forgotten about me…" she asked with a worried expression. Marik's heart felt light as he noted her expression. It was nice to have a friend to worry about your well being. He quickly gave her a smile.

"I'm sorry Mimiki. Everything is okay now. I could never forget about you."

Mimiki smiled and the two sat down. They enjoyed a night of stargazing and enjoying each other's company as Mimiki taught him about constellations.

For the first time in his life, Marik finally felt free.


	5. Warmth

A few months had passed since Marik and Mimiki were spending more time with each other. Marik slowly revealed his life to her — how he wasn't allowed to be in contact with the outside world and his siblings. Mimiki drank in amazement in his story. She couldn't imagine living the same life he had. His limited knowledge about things finally made sense to her, but also amused her. The curiosity of the customs of the surface world had infected Marik greatly and he had requested that she'd teach him everything about her world and she gladly accepted. Marik excitedly listened to everything she had to say. Mimiki noticed his excitement as he listened to what she said and smiled inwardly. She decided to poke fun at his ignorance of the world. At times, she told him a lot of lies.

"What do you mean that boys are made from snips, snails and puppy dog tails?! That's repulsive!" Marik said.

"I mean what I just said! And you're right! You boys are gross!" she said while sitting on her bed.

Marik sat in her desk chair and narrowed his eyes at her. "And what are you girls supposed to be made out of?"

"Only the finest things in the world!" she declared proudly.

Marik still sat there, not convinced. "And that is?"

"Sugar, spice and everything nice! The complete opposite of you boys!"

Marik really wasn't convinced. "Liar!" he said.

He quickly took one of her nearby pillows and threw it at her hard enough for her to fall off of her bed with a loud thud. She slowly rose from the ground with her pillow in hand, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand. "Did you really have to throw my pillow at me?!"

"That's what you get for lying! It's bad to lie, you know!" he said as he wagged his finger at her.

"Put a sock in it, Ishtar!" She quickly threw the pillow back at the boy and the two quickly engaged in a pillow fight. Mimiki laughed as she finally gave up.

"Okay, okay! I give up!"

Marik threw the last pillow at her again and smiled. He never had that much fun before. He never thought about playing with pillows before. This was the start of many more pillow fights to come. She also taught him how to play video games and duel monsters, beating him frequently.

Mimiki had also grown more curious about his life as well. He had told her about some of his scriptures and she wanted to learn how to read them. She also wanted to see how he lived, but he would always shy away from the idea. He had always come to her house to play, but never invited her over and she couldn't figure out why.

The two were sitting at the kitchen table, having a drink of water. Marik started to take a sip of his water when Mimiki started to speak.

"So you're always at my house to play. When can I come over to your place to hang out?"

Marik choked a bit at hearing her question. He was weary about bringing her back to his home and remembered how scared she was during her last "visit". Marik didn't want to lose her friendship because of her suppressed fear, but Mimiki really wanted to visit his home. They had always met up at her house and Marik found her house to be pretty amazing since he'd never been inside a real one until recently. Every time she would ask, he would manage to direct the topic elsewhere for the last three weeks. Her constant pestering was chipping away at his resolve. After receiving help from Mimiki by patting him on the back to relieve him of his choking he cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say.

"Uhh...well…"

Mimiki's eyebrow rose as she cupped her face with her hands. "Well what?"

"I always come over because your house is so nice. It's much more fun to be in than at my house."

"I'm pretty sure that your house is just as nice as mine. You live in this area, right?"

Marik looked away slowly. "Yeah...you can say that…"

"Then let me come over." she said with a smile.

"No." he said, turning away from her.

"Why not?!" she asked exasperated, unconsciously slamming both hands on the table, causing Marik to jump a bit. "Friends invite friends over to each other's houses! I told you that, didn't I? Come on! It'll be fun!"

'Why is this girl so persistent?' he thought. "No!"

"Please?" she begged. She stared at him with puppy eyes and smiled sweetly.

He almost blushed and turned away. He was determined to not let her have her way. He was going to put his foot down and exercise his authority. After all, it was his house...or compound.

"No!" he replied strongly.

Mimiki glared at him and crossed her arms. "Fine!" She quietly excused herself and walked to the freezer to glanced at the contents inside. Her eyes fell upon a certain item and she smiled evilly.

"Hey Marik...you want some ice cream?"

Marik's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes, please!"

Marik had fallen in love with ice cream, strawberry and chocolate in particular. He couldn't get enough of the sweet stuff and would always hope that Mimiki would give him some whenever he came over. She grabbed the necessary items, sat at the table and began to serve herself first. Marik waited for his portion until she sealed the ice cream tub and started eating her portion. Marik shot her a confused look.

"Where's mine?" he asked.

Mimiki took the spoon out of her mouth and gave him a bored look. "You're not getting any. You won't let me come over to your house." she said and quickly took another spoonful.

"Are you kidding me?! Give me that ice cream!"

He quickly lunged for the carton and she grabbed it and pushed his head back, dangling it from her hand far away from him with her spoon in her mouth.

"You want this ice cream?"

He struggled to push towards her, fearing that he could push her out of the chair and hurt her, but he really wanted his ice cream.

"I want it!"

"You want this ice cream?"

"I want it!" he stressed.

"You want this ice cream?"

"I want it, Mimiki!" he yelled with angry, widened eyes. His angry demeanor made her chuckle.

"How bad do you want it?" she asked after taking the spoon out of her mouth.

Marik gritted his teeth. "I want it now!"

"Then take me to your house today! No if's, ands or buts!" she stressed. "This is my final offer, Ishtar. Take it or leave it!"

Marik sighed. "Fine! Just give me the ice cream!"

Mimiki smiled and started scooping a portion for him. "Glad you see it my way, Ishtar." she said as he allowed the dessert to drop in his bowl loudly. Marik glared at her and quickly grabbed the bowl and started eating. He hoped that her visit wouldn't cause a problem.

___________________________________

A little while later, Mimiki stood at the door waiting for Marik. "Come on, slow poke! I'm waiting~~~" she sang with a big smile.

Marik sighed as the two exited the house and headed to the bazaar. He dreaded every step as the got closer to the edge of the of the bazaar where the desert started.

"Oh yeah! I remember! You live out there! Let's go!"

She started to skip ahead as he stayed behind, watching her behavior. He slowly caught up to her and showed her to the entrance of the tomb. He held his hand out to guide her down the long stairway. Mimiki stood there, frozen and Marik noticed that Mimiki started to shake a little.

"What's wrong? You're not afraid of the dark, are you? It won't be dark for long, I promise."

"I'm not afraid of the dark!" she said slightly snapping at him, causing him to jump a bit. Mimiki noted the look of worry on his face.

"Sorry Marik...I don't know what came over me…"

She quickly tried to push her feelings aside as Marik grew worried for her and grabbed her hand. "If you don't want to go, we can go back." he offered.

Mimiki blushed as she looked at their hands. A wave of peace took over and she started to calm down and squeezed his hand slightly.

"It's okay. I know that I'll be safe with you. It's your home after all." she replied smiling.

Marik smiled and returned her gesture and led her down the stairs after closing the door. Mimiki stared in amazement at the various art on the walls.

"This is so cool Marik! It's even better than the pictures on the internet!"

Marik smiled at her acting like a young child. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs until a voice interrupted them.

"Marik? You're back so—" Ishizu had appeared from around the corner from a nearby hallway. Her eyes quickly focused themselves on Mimiki and she jumped slightly. _'Great, he brought the young girl! I should've seen this coming…'_

Marik noticed her behavior and shot her a look pleading 'please don't fight with me' plastered on his face. Ishizu quickly fixed her face and smiled. She knew that this would happen sooner or later, so she decided she'd make the best of the situation.

"Marik you're back so soon! And you've brought a friend!"

Marik nodded. "Yes, this is Mimiki. Mimiki, this is my sister, Ishizu. You two met for a brief moment when we first met, remember?"

Mimiki noticed how beautiful Ishizu was, especially her eyes. They reminded her of a calm ocean midday.

"Wow! You're even more beautiful than I remember! Marik you have a model for a sister! A queen, even! That's so cool!"

Ishizu didn't know how to accept the compliment. She was still getting used to half of the lingo that Marik would rattle on about. She didn't even know what a model was, but she assumed that it was something pleasant. Marik didn't see what the big fuss was about. She was just his plain, older sister. Nothing new.

"It's no big deal, Mimiki. It's just my sister."

Mimiki turned to him and shot him an angry look. "Don't say that! You should be nicer to your sister! You should always treat us ladies with respect!"

Ishizu resisted letting a chuckle escape her lips. _'I like this girl. Tell him the truth!'_

Marik rolled his eyes. "Whatever. And since when were you a lady? You're the youngest person here."

Mimiki growled at him. "A lady is lady, regardless of her age!" she shot back before sticking her tongue out at him. "It's nice to meet you, Ishizu!" Ishizu nodded and smiled.

"I'm going to give her a small tour. Is that okay?" Marik asked. Ishizu nodded with a smile. "Yes. I'll have Odion prepare some tea for you both."

"Okay, thank you!"

Marik showed her around the tomb, carefully avoiding the room in which his father had died. He didn't want her to relive those memories, and he didn't want to do the same. They eventually came across a small maze and played tag inside of it. After a while, he eventually lead her to his room and rested from their game as they sat on his bed. Odion had brought them tea shortly afterwards.

"Master Marik, is this your new friend that Miss Ishizu had spoken of?" he asked as he sat the drinks on the desk.

"Yes, Odion. This is Mimiki. Mimiki, this is my brother, Odion."

Mimiki smiled sweetly at him and extended her hand to him. "Hi! It's nice to finally meet you!"

Odion shook the young girl's hand and thought back to the day the Mr. Ishtar was killed. Marik had mentioned that the young girl didn't remember the horrid event and it was now apparent that she didn't remember seeing Odion that day. He was glad that it didn't strain their relationship and was glad that she didn't remember it.

"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance as well, Miss Mimiki. Master Marik has told me much about you. It seems like you two have become good friends. I'm glad that Master Marik has such a beautiful young lady to associate with."

Mimiki blushed as Marik scoffed. "Marik! You didn't tell me that your brother was such a gentleman! He definitely knows how to treat a lady! He's just like a prince...unlike you!" she said, giving the boy another raspberry.

Odion chuckled and replied "Thank you, Miss Mimiki. I'm flattered."

Marik scoffed again. "I' am a gentleman!"

Mimiki raised an eyebrow. "Since when? You're the youngest boy here. I think you have a long way to go!" she teased.

"Don't use my own words against me, Mimiki!"

Odion couldn't help but laugh at the two as they continued to fight. "I'll leave you two to your play time. Please let me know if you two need anything else."

"Thank you Odion!" they replied in unison. Odion retrieved his tray and left the room, leaving them in silence for a while as they drank their tea.

"Marik," she said breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" he replied quietly as he looked towards her.

"Thank you for today. It was very fun. Everything was perfect."

Marik blushed a little, turning away. "You're welcome."

"Can we do this again?"

"Sure." Marik turned to her to meet her eyes.

She smiled gently and blushed lightly as she looked down into her cup of tea, fingering the clay cup. "Thanks for letting me in, Marik."

Marik blushed again. He started to feel warm inside. Her heart felt light as well. They were looking forward to making more memories together.


	6. Affection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to the guest who gave my work a kudos! You made my day!

Marik walked steadily to Mimiki's house. It was a hot day and Mimiki had suggested going to the oasis to cool down in the shade. He finally reached her house and knocked on the door. Marik was greeted by younger brother, Makoto.

"Oh hey, Marik. You're here for Mimi?"

"Mimi?" he asked in confusion and in turn her brother returned the same gesture.

"You know, Mimiki?"

Marik laughed nervously. "Yeah, I knew that!"

"Uh huh." he replied in a nonchalant tone. "Well come in. She's in the family room."

A little while ago, Mimiki insisted that he'd call her by her nickname as they were good friends now, but he wasn't used to addressing her by that name just yet. Marik stepped inside and walked to the family room. Mimiki was laying on the couch on top of a huge pillow, giving intense focus on watching a show on her tablet. She was also eating a butter cookie as she watched, not noticing Marik's arrival. Marik took note to her attire, a light, orange shirt and blue jean shorts. Her long legs were swinging lightly up and down as she watched TV. His eyes kept resting on her legs. It was already mid July and with it, the temperature soared. She always wore shorts to keep cool, but recently her legs started to look more charming to him. The sunlight that fell upon her made her more attractive. He blushed at his thoughts and tried to forget about it. Marik focused his attention onto the screen and saw what she was watching from a distance.

 _'She's watching those romantic anime shows again…'_ he thought.

He never understood what she loved about about romance. He thought that the cartoons were cool, but he preferred the action packed ones. He would occasionally watch them with her brother and dad if Mimiki was busy. It's not like he was exposed to romantic gestures at his home, since his mother had died whilst giving birth to him. His father never remarried and his only priority was to see that Marik succeeded the Ishtar name until the pharaoh returned. From time to time, his father would mention him marrying a girl from another clan so they could continue the Ishtar bloodline, but Marik was never interested in the thought.

Marik hovered over Mimiki slightly, still unaware that he was there. The scene unfolded as a teenage boy and girl were arguing, the boy pinned her against the wall, using one of his arms to keep his balance and smiling smugly. The girl almost cried, angry at her feelings.

"I'll forget you!" she stated. "After this night is over...this graduation...I'll forget you! I'll go to college and graduate! I'll be successful and forget you!"

The boy kept his confident air, still smiling. "Are you sure? Can you really forget about me? The man you said that you loved?"

The girl grew angrier, tears threatening to fall. "You had no right to read my letter!"

"Yeah, you jerk!" Mimiki shouted.

Marik looked at her weirdly. He couldn't believe that she was so into her show. It reminded him of Ishizu. Now that they were living a free life, she had gotten a hold of some romance novels from a local book stand and had her nose in them ever since. She wouldn't notice him or Odion entering her abode while she was reading. It was just so weird to him. He turned again to the screen.

"But that letter was addressed to me." the boy coolly stated.

"I don't care! You're such a—"

Her words were silenced as his lips joined with hers, catching her by surprise. Mimiki gasped and jumped up quickly, knocking Marik onto the floor with a hard thud.

"Kotoko and Naoki!" she squealed, jumping up and down. Makoto stepped into the room. "Mimi, mom and dad said to stop making all of that noise. You're going to wake Mika-chan up from her nap."

Makoto saw Marik on the floor, rubbing his head from his fall. "Why is Marik on the floor?"

Mimiki looked at him in confusion. "I didn't make that much noise, Makoto! And what are you talking about? Marik's not here!"

"Yes I am…" Marik was still sitting on the floor and rubbing his head.

"Marik when did you get here and why are you on the floor?"

"I wouldn't be sitting on the floor if _someone_ wasn't so into her anime that she didn't notice me and had hit me!"

"When did I hit you?!" she asked him flustered, helping him off the floor. Marik started to imitate her earlier behavior, raising the pitch in his voice. Mimiki blushed as he continued on. "I don't act like that!"

"Oh really? How about the time when you cried at the ending of Ouran High School Host Club? Or when Taiga and Ryuji kissed in that other one you were watching? What was that one? Toradora I think? Or when—"

Suddenly Marik landed hard on the couch. "Shut up! How do you know about my favorite shows and characters?! I know that you don't like most of them!" Mimiki shouted, blushing.

"Well when you never shut up about them, it's hard _not_ to know." Marik shot back.

Mimiki jumped on top of him and he quickly caught her wrists. She struggled in his grip. He smiled at having the upper hand. He had grown accustomed to her moods and how to deal with them. He would make her angry often on purpose just to get a reaction from her and found it pretty amusing.

"I can't stand you sometimes!" she said, giving up on her assault.

He was getting stronger and stronger by the day and it was getting harder to roughhouse with him. Marik smiled playfully as they looked into each other's eyes. Today his lavender eyes seemed different. Were they always that shade of lavender? She secretly thought that he had beautiful eyes and besides his platinum blonde hair, that's what she noticed about him first. And that cute smirk of his also got the best of her. She blushed as he lifted her up so they could sit up on the couch.

"Your face is a little red. Are you okay, Mimi?" he asked, touching her head.

"I'm fine." she said turning away from him.

Marik smiled. "You're cute when you're quiet, Mimi." Marik laughed when Mimiki quickly shoved him again. Makoto joined in the laughter. "Man, you girls are so sensitive!" Makoto said.

"You want some of this?!" she asked, waving her fist around.

Makoto held up his hands in defense. "Touchy, touchy!" he laughed as he walked away.

Marik chuckled then looked over to Mimiki. "Now that that's over, wanna go to the oasis? It's really hot outside and we can relax for a bit."

"Okay, but let me grab my sunhat first."

__________________________________

The two arrived at the oasis five minutes later and unfortunately for her, Mimiki was sweating bullets. 'Why did I think that this was a good idea again? I'm burning up!'

A quick breeze brushed against her hot skin. "That felt good." Mimiki said, grateful for the temporary relief.

Marik turned to her and offered his hand and she took it, blushing once again. Her condition didn't go unnoticed by Marik, so he walked her to a shallow area of the oasis. She slipped her sandals off and placed her feet into the water as he helped her in. The cool water felt good as it washed over her hot skin and smiled.

"I can't believe we've moved here 6 months ago and I'm still not used to the heat yet."

"Has it really been that long already? It doesn't seem like it."

"Yeah because my birthday is the day after tomorrow."

"Oh yeah! I remember! It's not like I could forget it since that's all you've been talking about for the last three weeks! How fitting that such a hot headed and bossy girl be born in the hottest month of the year!" Marik snickered.

"Excuse me?!"

Marik's snicker grew wider. "Can't take the heat, huh?"

He loved to tease her, and felt the need to do so. He loved how her ocean blue eyes filled with fire and enjoyed their roughhousing sessions. He started to love her touch and wanted it to go beyond a simple hug. Teasing her gave him an excuse to touch her, without giving his feelings away. He tried his best to rid his thoughts of such by teasing her, hoping that she wouldn't catch onto his feelings.

"You heard me, Mimi." he said, once again imitating her "I can't stand you sometimes, Marik! Stop eating all of my ice cream, Marik!" he said with a high pitched voice.

"But that's not all! You can be very nice and pleasant, too!" he added.

Mimiki quickly smiled. "Really? You think so? I know that I can be a little emotional sometimes, but I'm pretty nice, right?" she asked with hope in her voice.

He looked at her, noting on her hope and admired her smile. "Yeah, you're nice alright! ...When you're actually nice to me, like giving me all of the ice cream without me asking and not making me watch your lovey-dovey anime with you!"

Mimiki's jaw dropped, hope fleeting quickly. "What?!" Marik snickered again.

"Yeah and when you're not whining and pouting when I get over on you and your tricks when you don't get your way! Have you seen yourself when you do that? Man, it's funny getting back at you for all the times you tricked me and stuff! It would help though if you didn't cry so much, like a girl!" he said laughing harder.

Mimiki growled and balled up her fists. How dare he give her hope that he would say something sweet about her and then rob her of her moment? There was no way that she would let him think she'd let that slide.

"Marik, you jerk!"

She quickly exited the water and shoved him a little too hard. She shoved him so hard that it caught him off guard and he tripped, then fell into the oasis with an audible splash, following him rolling deeper underwater. Mimiki folded her arms and snickered as he came up to the surface gasping for air.

"Aww come on, Ishtar. It's only 3 feet deep over there! It's the shallow end, remember?! Don't tell me you're scared!" She was right. Marik stood up on his knees and tried to shoot her an angry glare as he coughed and his hair was covering his face. Mimiki laughed at his appearance, trying to cover her mouth for laughing so loudly.

"What's so funny, Mimi?!"

She kneeled down to his level and looked him in the eyes with a vengeful snicker. "Who's the girl now, punk?!"

"What are you talking about?! I'm not crying like you do half of the time!"

His insult fell on deaf ears as she stood back up. "I don't know whether to call you a girl or a wet mop!"

Marik scowled as she kept laughing. "You could at least help me up since you pushed me in!"

Mimiki ceased her laughing for a bit to try to help him. "Hmm...I guess I can do that!"

She kneeled down again and offered her hand to him, grabbing it in return. She helped him a little before he grabbed her with both arms and pulled her in quickly. They both breached the surface, this time Marik laughing and Mimiki screaming in frustration.

"Who's the loser now, Mimi?!"

She quickly grabbed for her hat before it floated away and splashed about angrily. "Marik Ishtar! I just finished my hair yesterday and you ruined it!"

"Don't act like you didn't see this coming, Mimi. That's what you get for being so mean! And it's just your hair. You can redo it later!"

Mimiki splashed him furiously. "Two hours of styling down the drain! I'm gonna redo your face!"

Marik returned her water warfare with more vigor than her, and Marik claimed his victory. They exited the oasis and tried to dry themselves off as much as possible. The two sat next to each other under a nearby tree and Marik touched her forehead.

"At least you're not sweating anymore, right?" he asked with a smile, causing her to blush. "Yeah...thanks Marik."

"No, thank you Mimi. Although we tend to fight a little, being friends with you has been the best six months I've ever had in my life. I've never had so much fun before meeting you. You're my best friend."

Mimiki blushed and smiled. "You're my best friend, too."

Without thinking, she quickly kissed him on the cheek, her heart beating a mile a minute during the process. Marik's eyes widened and blushed hard as he touched his cheek. Realizing what she did, she turned away from him.

"I'm sorry...I don't know what I was thinking! You know, playing hard in the water has made me a bit tired and I'm still wet. Can we hang out another time, Marik?"

Marik's mind was still processing what had happened. He felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. "Uh yeah! W-we can do that…"

Mimiki sighed in relief. "Thanks for understanding Marik." she said as she put her hat on again.

"Uh huh, I'll go home too. But can you come over tomorrow? I have something to give you…for your birthday, I mean…"

Mimiki nodded her head nervously as she hid her eyes from him. "Yeah...that's fine...see you tomorrow."

Marik waved as Mimiki slipped back into her sandals and walked away.


	7. Embrace

Mimiki tossed and turned in her bed, dreaming about him. She woke up several times during the night, an hour at a time. Another factor keeping her from having a good night's sleep was her curiosity of her birthday gift from Marik. She couldn't get over the fact that she had kissed Marik on his cheek earlier in the day. She felt like she was in a trance, that it felt right to kiss him. She felt more embarrassed the more she thought about it. He said himself that she was his best friend, nothing more.

 _'But it's not like I actually kissed him, kissed him…'_ she thought.

If he brought the subject up, she'd just explain that a kiss on the cheek doesn't mean much, that she wanted to express how grateful she was to have such a good friend like him. After all, he lit up her dark world after she had moved to Egypt. As the days went by, her homesickness subsided and her sadness was down to a minimum. Sure she missed her family and friends back home, but he made it better. The two were practically inseparable, especially now that it was summer vacation.

She had crushes on boys at her school before, but they never reciprocated her feelings and she had grown tired of getting the short end of the stick. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with Marik, so she decided to keep her feelings to herself. She tossed and turned again and laid her eyes on her clock; 4:37 AM. She buried her head in the pillow and tried to sleep. The sun would be rising very soon and she just wanted some rest.

________________________________

Marik rose with the sun. He was antsy about Mimiki coming over and couldn't stop thinking about her impromptu kiss. His cheek still felt tingly, his heart fluttered and he blushed. He couldn't stop thinking about it and wondered how it might feel to actually kiss each other. If a kiss on the cheek felt that nice, he couldn't imagine how it would feel on his lips. His face felt like it was on fire.

"I must look as red as tomato...I can't let Mimi or anyone else see me like this!" He took a sip of water from his cup on his desk and sat it back down. He glanced at the present he had made for Mimiki and imagined how she would react once he gave it to her.

 _"Happy birthday, Mimi!"_ He said handing her the present.

 _"Aww Marik! Thank you!"_ She said smiling happily while opening the box. She smiled harder and hugged him. _"It's beautiful! It's the best present I've ever gotten!"_

 _"That's not all, Mimi! Here's more!"_ He showered her with a ton of gift boxes.

_"Wow! This is the best birthday ever! Thank you Marik!"_

Mimiki littered his face with kisses and then planted a big one on his lips. Marik returned her kiss with full force. He was right! This felt way better than a kiss on the cheek! The two continued to enjoy their moment.

"Little brother, what are you doing?"

"I'm kissing Mimi, what does it look like?"

"Master Marik, that's your pillow…"

"Wha…?"

Marik snapped out of his daydream and realized that he was indeed kissing his pillow. Not only was he doing that, he left a small stain of saliva on it as well trying to imitate the deep kisses he had once secretly read about in one of Ishizu's romance novels. He blushed and threw his pillow to the other side of the bed. His sibling's eyes met with his and he looked away; never had he felt so embarrassed in his life. He couldn't even think of any words to say to them. How would he wriggle his way out of this one? He turned around, hid under his sheets and curled himself into a ball. Marik felt some weight shift on the edge of his bed while he heard his desk chair shift across the floor.

"Come on little brother, tell us what possessed you to ravage your pillow the way you did." Marik stayed quiet as she kept pressing the matter. Forget looking like a tomato — he felt dying a thousand deaths at the hand of Slifer.

"Why is your pillow wet?" Ishizu asked as she examined it. "Were you — what do you know about kissing in this manner?! Have you been sneaking in my magazines?!" she asked, exasperated.

 _'Kill me now…'_ he thought.

So what if he took a sneak peek at her magazines while she was occupying herself with other matters? He liked magazines, too! Well not the ones that she read, but he was just curious, especially when he came across the "how to kiss" and "how to french kiss" articles. When he saw them, he couldn't believe that his sister was interested in those sorts of things since she was so refined and independent. He never saw her being interested in any guys either, but he wouldn't put it past her since she was clever and a bit sneaky.

"So you have been reading my magazines, you sneaky little—"

Marik quickly jumped up and fought back. "Why do you even have those things anyway?! Why do you care about how to kiss someone?! You're always reading those novels and stuff! What are you hiding from us, Ishizu? Is there some man we don't know about?!"

Ishizu blushed and started to sweat a little. How dare he question her personal life? She was seventeen and she could do what she pleased. She was practically a grown woman and now that she was free from the strict rules of the Ishtar clan, she'd be damned if she didn't enjoy her freedom.

"Don't make this about me, little brother! We're talking about you! Why were you in my belongings?! And french kissing your pillow?"

Before he could fight back, Ishizu covered her mouth and started to laugh and chills started to run down his spine.

"Ah, I understand now. You said earlier that you were kissing Mimiki, didn't you?" she asked, eyeing him slyly as he turned red once again.

Odion also laughed. "You care for Miss Mimiki a great deal, don't you Master Marik? I see the way you look at her when you two are together."

"What are you talking about, Odion? I don't look at Mimi any differently than I do anyone else. She's...she's my best friend."

"Yes, we're aware of that. You two spend a lot of time together." He replied.

"Yeah...we do."

"So do you have feelings for her?" Ishizu quipped.

"NO!" He quickly answered. Ishizu smiled and laughed at him again.

"You should tell her how you feel, Master Marik. Just be honest with her and I'm sure that everything will be alright." Odion commented.

The young Ishtar looked up at him worryingly. "Do you really think so, Odion?"

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, I'm sure. Miss Mimiki is a very reasonable and pleasant young girl."

"Yes, Marik. Just be yourself. A girl appreciates honesty." Ishizu added.

Marik looked into their eyes and calmed down a bit. "Okay, I'll try to tell her how I feel. I'll make sure that she has a great birthday!"

The two elder Ishtars smiled at him. "Good," Ishizu said as she stood up. "It's early and the market should be opening up soon. Odion and I will be leaving to get ingredients for Mimiki's Egyptian Palace Cake. I'm certain that she will love it. After I finish making it, I'll prepare her gift and such. You should get ready too, Marik. We will be returning soon."

"Okay. See you soon."

The elder Ishtar siblings left Marik to his thoughts as he grabbed her gift again. He really hoped that she would like it. She had told him about the birthday gifts and parties she had back home once before and he knew that he couldn't compete with what she had in the past. Before feelings of frustration could kick in, he quickly decided to move on and prepare for her arrival. Today was going to be a good day.

______________________________________

Mimiki woke up hours later; the clock reading 9:00 AM. She rubbed her eyes and yawned sleepily as she felt like she didn't have much energy. The sun was shining brightly through her curtains. She got out of bed and opened her curtains along with her window and a blast of hot air slapped her in the face. She gasped as she quickly closed the window. The gust of air woke her up a bit and she made a mental note to wear her sun hat and to put on more sunscreen. She slowly prepared to get ready for the day. She managed to redo her hair from yesterday's water war between her and Marik. She blushed at the thoughts about the previous day's events leading up to her planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Mimiki brushed her hair faster as she kept thinking about it.

 _'Mimiki you will NOT let what happened make things weird between you and your best friend!'_ she mentally shouted.

She made her way to the closet to grab an outfit, picked a light cotton pink shirt with a matching ribbon and blue jean shorts and got dressed. Afterwards, she grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Ah, good morning mom." Sumie turned and returned her greeting.

"Good morning, baby. How are you feeling this morning? Are you excited for your birthday tomorrow? I can't believe that you're finally turning 13! You're growing up so fast! I can't believe it!" she said as she hugged her daughter.

"Yes, I'm very excited! I'll finally be a teenager!"

Sumie giggled at her comment. "Yes, I remember those days. I had a lot of fun in my teenage years and I learned a lot too. I know that you'll do the same. Do you want some breakfast? I can whip something up really quick."

Mimiki nodded and replied "That would be nice. Thanks mom."

Mimiki ate a small breakfast, grabbed her water bottle and made her way to the front door to slip her sandals on. When she opened the door, the hot desert air welcomed her outside to its lovely toasty atmosphere. She grunted as she put on her hat and took a large gulp of water before she took her pilgrimage to the Ishtar abode.

___________________________________

Marik heard the entrance doors closing for the third time today. His heart started racing as he heard her footsteps getting closer. Mimiki wiped the beads of sweat off her face with her hand. The temperature proved hotter than yesterday and she was elated that she was finally in the shade. Marik quickly met up with her and scared her a bit.

"Marik! You scared me! Didn't notice you there."

"Sorry Mimi. I didn't mean to. I heard you coming and I wanted to meet you. I have a surprise for you!" he said while flashing a big smile.

"Is it water, because I would really like some. It's burning up out there!" she said while trying to fan herself with her hat.

"Of course! Let's go and get you some!" He quickly linked her hand with his and walked her to their dining room. They both blushed at their contact, but didn't question it. When they reached the dining room, she saw that the table had a cake, small dishes of Egyptian cuisine, bouquets of blue and white lotus flowers, water lilies, vibrant colored irises and chrysanthemums adorned the table along with a two gift boxes. Marik smiled at her shocked expression at the display, especially when she accidentally dropped her hat.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!" they all shouted.

"Everyone, what's this? It's so beautiful!" She turned to Marik as he squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"It's your birthday! Well, almost your birthday. You should be celebrated. I know that this might not be as good as one of your birthday parties at home, but happy birthday Mimi! May you shine like Ra, stand tall like Obelisk and be as strong as Slifer!"

She started to cry and this alarmed Marik. "Mimi! I'm sorry! Why are you crying? I did a bad job, didn't I? That Egyptian god phrase was…uh...corny, wasn't it? I'm sorry!" He felt useless at times like this. Girls were so confusing!

"No!" she said quickly. "This is even better! Thank you everyone!" She gave everyone a big hug. Ishizu handed her a tissue to dry her face.

They went on and sang, ate and started to open her presents. Ishizu had given her an old white dress that was too small for her. She made some alterations and added an intricate floral design in gold around the huge sleeves and the bottom hem. She had also given her some gold jewelry composing of earrings and a simple headdress with a polished rose quartz jewel in the middle.

"This is beautiful! It is really okay for me to have this?" she asked Ishizu.

She nodded and gave her a small hug. "Of course! I'm happy that you like your gifts."

Mimiki stared at them again. "I really do! Thank you! Can I try them on?"

Ishizu nodded. "Yes, of course. Please use Marik's room since it's closer." Mimiki nodded and left to change.

A few minutes later, she returned as they were all talking amongst themselves. "How do I look?"

Marik gasped at her radiance and blushed. Everything had fit her perfectly and she looked like a princess. Ishizu and Odion had commented on her appearance while Marik kept staring at her.

"Well Marik? How do you think I look?" she asked blushing. Ishizu and Odion took this opportunity to leave the room unnoticed, hoping that he would confess his feelings to her.

"You're beautiful."

The two teenagers blushed and Mimiki looked down a bit, twisting her foot on the floor to distract her from his comment. A boy had never called her beautiful before besides her family members, so it was a big deal to her. Silence grew between them as she locked eyes with him again until he handed her another small box.

"This is for you Mimi. I hope that you like it."

She smiled as she took the box and opened it. Inside laid lapis lazuli, peridot and carnelian triple beaded bracelets, three in all. They all had three fire blown colored clay flowers on them; one being white water lilies, pink lotus flowers, and lastly cornflowers. Each flower had a corresponding jewel in them; the water lilies had lapis lazuli, the lotus had garnets and the cornflowers had carnelians.

Mimiki's eyes widened as she looked at them. "Marik! These are beautiful! I can't accept these! This is too much! Why did you spend so much money on me? You didn't have to do that."

Marik looked up towards the ceiling, still blushing. "Well, I made them myself. The jewels weren't hard to come by. I had some help from Ishizu and Odion. My mother had taught them various skills before she died. Jewel making and mining are one of the ways our family has earned income over the years, so it's okay. Besides, you're my best friend. You deserve the best!" he said as he slipped the lotus bracelet onto her tiny wrist. "See? Fits perfectly!" he said with a sheepish grin.

Mimiki quickly hugged him tightly. "Thank you Marik! I don't deserve such a good friend like you! You're too kind...sometimes." she joked as she let a out a small laugh.

"But really, I appreciate this. This is the best birthday ever. Thank you." He blushed again as she released him from her hug, but he quickly grabbed her arms and they locked eyes again. The tension between them grew and Marik couldn't handle it anymore. He had to distract himself.

"Well I'm only kind sometimes? I guess you're beautiful...sometimes." he said grinning mischievously. Mimiki puffed up her cheeks like always.

"Hey! I was joking! You're so ruining our nice moment, Marik! Don't be a jerk on my birthday!" She spat before sticking her tongue out.

"It's not your birthday yet, Mimi. It's tomorrow, remember?" he said, still sporting his grin.

"Don't treat me like that! This party was not my idea! You asked me to come over, remember?"

Marik smirked at her attitude. This was the perfect diversion from his feelings. Now that the mood was gone, he didn't have to tell her how he felt.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied. Mimiki groaned. "You can be such a jerk sometimes!"

He replied with the same "yeah, yeah" response to make her more angry. "Marik, why are you trying to ruin my party?! It was going nice until you had to open your mouth!" As she kept complaining, Marik grew irritated and turned to her.

"Mimiki!" he yelled.

"WHAT?!" she yelled back.

"Would you please shut up?!" he asked as he grabbed her by her waist with one arm and cupped her cheek with his other hand and closed the gap between them; their lips finally connecting as Mimiki's eyes widened like dinner plates. It felt like an eternity before Marik broke the kiss. His lips tingled greatly as he blushed and looked away to try to recover from the bold move he just made. It felt way better than he imagined. Mimiki on the other hand, was as red as a tomato and still in shock.

 _'My first kiss?!'_ she screamed mentally.

Marik snickered and opened his mouth again. "I knew that you were cute when you were quiet, but I didn't know that you'd be this beautiful when you're in shock and awe! You don't have to thank me, just forget about the whole thing."

Mimiki quickly snapped out of her shock, hurt at what he had said.

"What do you mean "forget about the whole thing?" That was my first kiss! You stole it from me and you want me to forget about it?!"

He turned and looked at her and immediately felt awful about was he said when he saw the pain in her eyes. She knew that she could be loud sometimes, but she couldn't let the event of her first kiss be stomped into the ground. This didn't feel like a magical Disney princess movie moment to her at all. It was the complete opposite.

Mimiki clinched her fists tightly, fighting back her tears. Since when was a kiss just "nothing", especially one planted on the lips? He stole her first kiss, her first kiss! Anger exploded as she landed a hard slap on his cheek, tears staining her face.

"I can't stand you sometimes, you-you stupid...boy! I'm leaving!" She quickly ran out of the room and left the tomb.


	8. Sleep

"Mimi!" Marik shouted as he held his cheek. He couldn't believe that she slapped him that hard. ''

 _'She's stronger than she looks...and here I thought that Ishizu's punches were hard…'_ he thought while rubbing his cheek. A loud thud rang through the brick hall, indicating Mimiki's exit. Ishizu and Odion ran back into the dining room moments later.

"Master Marik? What's going on and where's Miss Mimiki? Didn't she like her present that you gave her?" Marik stayed silent as he rubbed his cheek and locked eyes with his older sister. If looks could kill, he'd be dead right about now. He'd never seen her like this and it gave him the chills. Even Odion could feel the anger building up in the room.

"What possessed you to say what you said to her? Why did you have to ruin that beautiful moment between you two?!" she asked with her hands balled in a fist.

"You heard…?" he asked.

"Oh no, what made you think that, little brother? Not only did I hear it, _I saw it!_ "

Marik cursed mentally. "Don't get angry! You brought this upon yourself! Why would we go through all of this trouble to give her a nice birthday party for you to ruin her day?!"

Marik felt like he was knocked down a peg until she continued her rant. "You said that you were going to tell her how you felt! Is this how you really feel about her? Your best friend for the past six months? Your best friend that you've been practically attached to at the hip?!" she stressed.

Marik felt like he could crawl into a sand dune and die as she kept ranting. Ishizu was right. He did ruin her party and he goofed up in telling her how he felt about her. Not to mention…

"And you kissed her! Do you have any idea how high the possibility is that you've crushed her feelings because you said it didn't mean anything?!"

Ishizu closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose and placed her other hand on her hip. Marik looked towards Odion in the background with a pleading look of "help" plastered on his face. Odion stepped back a bit, signaling that he didn't want to get involved.

 _'Gee, thanks Odion for the backup!'_ Marik thought sarcastically.

"Marik, leave and find Mimiki and apologize to her! Right now!" she commanded as she pointed to the hallway. "Maybe if you leave now, you'll catch her before she reaches her home. Go on, now! And allow me to say this, little brother; I don't want to have such a conversation with you again over avoidable drabble! Do you understand?"

Marik swallowed hard and nodded before quickly left the room and headed for the entrance. When he arrived, the sound of strong winds stopped him. He quickly tried to push the door open, it was proving difficult as harsh winds continued to push against it. Panic started to settle in. He finally was able to push it open several minutes later, his eyes widened in horror.

"MIMI!" He shouted.

A sandstorm was quickly approaching the visibility was getting very low. He couldn't see her and tried to find at least her footprints, but they were gone. Breathing became difficult, so he ran back to the tomb and quickly closed the door. The harsh winds slammed the the door onto his right arm and part of his face, sending him falling down a couple of stairs. Sand fell from his platinum blonde locks as the pain simmered throughout his body. He tried to stand up, but knees collapsed on him; his heart sunk lower and lower into the quicksand of emotions that poisoned his heart. Because of him, his best friend was out in that sandstorm. He wouldn't forgive himself if something had happened to her.

"Mimi…"

A little while later he returned to his room and found that she had left her belongings. Seeing that made him worry himself to death even more. She had no protection out there to shield her or to help her breathe or see anything. The blazing temperature didn't help either the situation either. He couldn't imagine how she felt out there alone. He cursed and kicked himself. If he didn't act like an ass to her, she'd be with them and safe.

______________________________

Over the past two hours, he had attempted to leave the tomb, but the storm was still raging on. He had grown frustrated and waiting for the storm to subside felt like an eternity passing him by. On his latest attempt as he walked to the entrance, he couldn't hear the strong winds anymore. He had enlisted Odion and Ishizu for help, as the weight of the sand was a little too heavy for him to handle. His heart raced as they pushed the door and it flew open; hot, smooth sand hitting them in the face. After regaining their eyesight, they saw desert horizon and a clear blue sky, as if nothing had happened.

"Everything is clear Master Marik. Would you like us to accompany you to Miss Mimiki's house?"

"No, it's fine Odion. I made this mess myself, so I'll fix it myself. Thank you, though. I appreciate your kindness. I promise to make everything right with Mimi. Hopefully she didn't get caught in that storm..."

Odion smiled and nodded. "I understand, Master Marik. Good luck with Miss Mimiki."

"Yes. Good luck, little brother. Remember what we discussed. We'll be expecting your return later."

He waved and ran out to her house immediately. Fear rang through his soul when he discovered that she didn't make it home. He checked around town and no one had seen her. His despair grew deeper with every burning step he made back to his home. Before he went back into the tomb, he sat on a half wall nearby with the notion that he was going to rip his hair out. He was tired, very hot and not to mention embittered. He hated that he was so cut off from the modern world and wished that he could call her. He cursed his family's loyalty to the pharaoh and wish that he could be a normal teenager, just like her.

Before his anger could truly steep, a sudden strong gust of wind blew sand onto his face, making it difficult to see and breathe. He coughed, stumbled a bit from the wall to a small half dome enclosure made of old brick. Once he regained his composure, he used the dome to pull himself up and stepped on something firm, yet soft. He questioned it and wiped the sand away to find a slender tan hand.

His eyes widened in horror as he dug away and found Mimiki's body buried under the sand with the exception of her head and unconscious. "MIMI!" he screamed. He dug faster and faster to dig her out and managed to pull her body from her sand coffin.

"MIMIKI! MIMIKI!" he screamed again as he shook her. Her body was burning up from the heat and the sand and she didn't move. As he brushed more sand off her body, his fingers hit something familiar on her leg. He pulled her dress up to find teeth marks above her ankle and gasped.

"A snake bite…?"

The site of the snake bite was red and Marik's heart dropped instantly. He started to shake at the thought of her being dead. His mind went south when she still showed no signs of moving and that she wasn't breathing. He started shaking and began to cry as he held her in his arms.

"Mimiki...I'm so sorry!" he said between sobs. "I didn't mean for this...to happen!"

He continued to cry over her body as his mind was flooded with the memories they shared together. He felt like darkness was closing in on him again just like the time his father died months earlier. He had no one to blame this time but himself and it made him feel like complete shit.

"Please don't leave Mimiki…please! I'm so sorry!" he cried as his face nuzzled his face against hers, his tears staining her face.

"I'm sorry that I ruined your day! I wanted to do something nice for you and I ruined it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I let you die! Please come back! Mimiki!" he screamed and cried as the darkness closed in on him.

"Marik…" a familiar voice called out. He looked up to see Mimiki standing before him in the desert sand with blank eyes. She looked at him sweetly and smiled. "Mimi? You're alive!"

His heart jumped for joy as she continued to stare at him. He didn't know whether to cry or scream. "You're okay!"

His heartbeat slowed as he calmed down and sighed in relief. He quickly ran up to her and smiled. "Mimi! You have no idea how happy I' am to see you! I was really worried about you! Are you okay?"

She continued to stare at him and nodded slowly. He sighed again and locked his fingers with hers, feeling the warmth. Yes, everything was okay. It wasn't a dream. Everything was okay, until the next question that she asked him sent his world spiraling down to hell as she broke his hold, stepped back and placed her hand on her cheek and propped her elbow with her other arm. Her bangs hid one side of her face and her smile curled upward into a devious smile.

"Why'd you let me die, Marik?" she asked in her sweet voice.


	9. Realization

Marik starting shaking again as more tears flowed. Her question kept replaying in his mind as he broke down. "Mimiki! I'm sorry! I didn't—"

 _"I think that you did enough, Marik! You let me die! You let that storm and snake kill me!"_ she spat with venom.

"Look...I know that this is my fault! I'm sorry! If I could make this all better, I would! Honest!"

She stared down at him, unmoved by his words. Her stare kept drilling into his soul, making him feel insignificant as he waited for a response. "Please talk to me, Mimi!" he pleaded as he cried. She stayed silent again for a moment as her movements showed her pondering over his words.

_"Hmm...you want to make this all better, right Marik?"_

"Yes! More than anything Mimi! Tell me what to do and I'll do it!" he cried desperately, tears still falling rapidly. Her devious smile deepened as she chuckled and closed her eyes for a moment.

_"Fine then. Go home and kill your family or yourself. It doesn't really matter, I don't care."_

Marik's heart stopped. How could she say that so carefree and with a smile? Marik thought he was hearing things until her words finally registered in his head. "What…? Mimiki...you're not serious!"

_"I'm as serious as a heart attack, Marik. What's the problem? You've already killed me, so honoring my request should be easy, so add them to your resume. It's only fair, right? A life for a life!" _Then she started to assume a thinking gesture and spoke again. _"Actually, my life is worth at least two or three lives, don't you think?"_ she asked happily.__

Her eyes quickly widened with a idea. _"Here's an idea! Why don't you start with Odion first? He is the oldest, after all."_

Marik sat there and stared at her in disbelief. Since when did she become so ruthless and uncaring? It was like he didn't know who she was. Did death really have that effect on her? Who was this girl and what did she do with his best friend? Marik gasped as her features were slowly changing: her teeth seemed to grow sharper and her eyes looked like an angry cat. His heart was slowly breaking and he started to panic. 'I don't know what to do!' he screamed mentally as he ripped his fingers through his hair.

She drank in his disbelief and panic, loving that his negative feelings were making her stronger and continued to egg him on further. _"Come on! Think about it, Ishtar! Odion was never meant to be in the Ishtar clan and your father treated him like shit, especially after you were born! You were practically the cause of his pain for the last thirteen years, so ending his life for him is like doing him a favor!"_

Marik looked up at her, afraid to ask his next question, but the words fell from his mouth. "And why Ishizu?" She pipped up at his question and smiled widely.

 _"Ishizu, you ask? You can kill her so I can have a friend here in the afterlife. It's rather dull over here with no friends around. I mean, none of my friends from home are dead yet! None of their other friends pissed them off and let them slip into a freak weather accident to kill them like you did!"_ she stressed with a toothy smile. _"Come on, it's the least you could do."_

Marik shook at her words and couldn't find the courage to speak. The overwhelming guilt suffocated him as his eyes widened with despair and he felt his world crash around him. He started to feel like he was losing control and his eyes became blank as he fell to his knees. She folded her arms in pleasure. The plan was working perfectly. She walked up to him and quickly grabbed his chin and then looked into his eyes.

 _"Besides, how can you go back home and tell them that you killed me? Your family would disown you, so kill them anyway! Ishizu was already pissed at you for ruining my day along with stealing my first kiss, so do it Marik! This is all your fault so make everything better!"_ she yelled sternly with veins forming on her face.

"Yes...Mimi...I'll do it...if it makes everything better..." he said with his head facing the ground.

She smirked, released his chin and placed her hands on her hips. "Glad you see it my way. It's good to know that you know that you can win an argument with a girl. We'll always be right."

 _'My plan is working perfectly! Now to add more damage by putting the icing on the cake!'_ she thought.

_"Do you need more reasons to why you should do this? What about your dear mother and father?"_

Marik gave her a hollow, depressed looked. "Mother...and father?" he asked quietly.

Although his father was a complete tyrant most of the time, he still held love for the late Ishtar and his mother died after giving birth to him. Tears welled up in his eyes again. _'Another person died because of me…'_ he thought sadly. He felt like his heart and spirit was almost completely broken at this point and couldn't take the pain any longer.

 _"Yes...your father is already dead thanks to the pharaoh, and your mother lost her life giving birth to your useless ass, tsk, what a pity!"_ she said while examining her nails. She looked up at him and felt like his breaking point was near.

 _"So do them a favor Marik and send their beloved children to them! Now go!"_ she said pointing towards the tomb.

He stood up and turned around to go home upon her request but wouldn't move. He stayed there for a while until she got frustrated. _"What are you waiting for?! Go!"_ she yelled, but he didn't comply. Although he felt crushed by the darkness and her words, something didn't feel right in his heart. It was like a small spark in his heart was still lit and was telling him not to give up. The young girl growled loudly.

_"Do it now, Marik!"_

"No…" he whispered.

Her eyes shrank in disbelief and anger. _"What was that?! I said go!"_

He turned around and faced her with his hair covering his eyes. He could hear the voices of the ones he loved telling him not to give up. Life returned to his eyes and his heart burned with resolve. "You're not Mimiki!"

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. _"Of course I am! What makes you think that! There's only one of me!"_

He looked up at her with an angry face. She was starting to panic, how could he recover like that so quickly? "If you're Mimiki, then how did you know that the pharaoh killed my father?! I never told her that!" She stepped back again and gasped once she realized her mistake of talking too much.

_"Of course you have! During our many talks you've—"_

"No! I've made sure that she didn't know until I was ready to deal with it myself! She doesn't even remember what happened! And how did you know about the fight Ishizu and I had? Mimiki was gone by then! Mimiki would never make me feel so low like you have! Besides, look at you! You're ugly inside and out! Mimiki would never allow such evil to escape her lips!"

His mind rushed through the many memories they shared. Thinking of her smile, her laugh, her kindness and even her teasing made his heart warm. He knew that the thing standing before him was definitely not his friend. "You are not my friend! Leave, demon!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. _"I almost had you!"_ she screamed. _"You've think you've won this battle, huh? Mark my words, I'm closer than you think! You haven't seen the last of me! I will have my day! You better believe that!"_ she said before disappearing into the darkness.

Marik jumped up and wiped the sweat from his forehead and he tried to calm his breathing. He looked around to find everything was the same; the hot sunny day, the sand and Mimiki's motionless body.

"It was a dream...an illusion…a really horrible one..." he sighed as he looked down at her again. He had never felt so horrible like that ever since his tomb keeper initiation, but that evil spirit threw him for a loop. He tried to brush it aside and focused on Mimiki again. He pushed her bangs away from her face as a tear fell on her cheek. Nothing had changed, and it was nothing he could do about it.

"But I wish that you were still alive…" he said as he closed his eyes shut for a moment as he held her close again.

After a few minutes, a gentle breeze washed over them and he heard a faint noise. He listened in closely and felt like he was having a heart attack. He looked at her again to confirm the sound. He thought the desert heat was making him mad and he was seeing things, but it was there as clear as day: she was breathing very slowly. She also had a small smile on her lips and was sweating. She was alive!

He picked her up bridal style and took her back to the tomb before her condition could reverse itself. Lady luck seemed to be on his side and he wasn't going to ruin his second chance.

____________________________________

Once he returned home, Marik quickly called his siblings for help. They took her into his room and carefully sat Mimiki on the bed and removed her headdress and jewelry to make her more comfortable. The elder Ishtars examined her bite wound.

"She could've been bitten by a cobra, a horned viper, or a saw scaled viper. Either way, their venom can be quite lethal. We have to administer an antidote quickly. Odion can you run to our storage room to obtain one vile of our most powerful antidotes? I'm going to retrieve some water, medicine and towels to clean her wound and stabilize her body temperature."

"Yes, Miss Ishizu. I'll return shortly." He quickly made his leave. "What should I do?" Marik asked quietly with a hint of worry. "What can I do to help, sister?"

Ishizu looked at him with an expression of seriousness. "You'll stay here and watch over her until we return, although I won't be long. Right now she needs to be strictly monitored until she recovers." Marik replied with a somber "that's it" look. "Okay."

His eyes became glassy again and he tried his best to hide it. She hated seeing him like this and knew that her prior scolding rant was a factor in his frustration. She hugged him softly.

"Marik, I know that I was cruel to you earlier and for that, I apologize. I love you, little brother and I always will. Mimiki is fighting for her life right now so you'll have to fight for her too, understand?"

He cried as he returned her hug. "I'm so sorry! If I didn't—"

Ishizu quickly quieted him and replied "I know, and it's in the past now. Let's help her recover, okay?" Marik nodded and the two separated after Ishizu left to fetch her supplies. After a minute or so, they returned. Odion cleaned, administered the antidote, and wrapped the wound while Ishizu patted the young girl dry, placed a cold compress on her forehead, and tried to make her more comfortable as Marik watched.

After an hour, they were able to stabilize her condition and she was sleeping soundly. "What do we do now? Will she be okay?" Marik asked.

Ishizu and Odion smiled. "Yes Master Marik, she'll be fine. She's been through a lot, so she needs to rest. She should feel better by the time she wakes up." he replied.

Marik sighed with relief and smiled. "That's great!"

"We'll just keep monitoring her until she wakes up, but overall she'll be fine. I'm going to inform her parents of the situation so they won't worry about her. Marik, please watch over her until I return. I'll try to make my trip short."

Marik nodded. "Okay. Be safe, sister."

Ishizu flashed him a smile and left the room. Odion decided to give him some time alone and left to clean the mess from the party. Marik pulled his desk chair over to the bed and watched over her. He never thought he'd be so happy to hear someone snore lightly in his life. He laughed a bit at her snoring and he knew she'd kill him if he teased her about it.

_'I promise that I won't tease you about this Mimi. Keep on snoring.'_

He continued to watch over and took care of her long after Ishizu had returned. After changing her compress again, he yawned as became drowsy. He gave her small hand a gentle squeeze before falling asleep by her side, laying his head and arm on the edge of the bed.

Several hours later, Mimiki stirred awake and tried to open her eyes. Her vision finally cleared and she panicked when she saw the brick ceiling. She tried to sit up quickly and get a feel of the situation, but that had proved difficult as her head fell back onto the pillow. She felt like she had been hit by a semi truck and was a little dizzy. As she tried to rub her eyes, she noticed that something was on her right hand. She turned over to find Marik cupping her hand, sleeping soundly and snoring lightly, looking like an innocent child. Questions quickly filled her head as she tapped him awake. "Marik! Wake up!"

He quickly jumped up and shook his head around as he awoke from his slumber. When he saw her big blue eyes staring back at him, his excitement quickly took over as he dove down and hugged her tightly.

"Mimi! You're alive! You're okay! You're really okay!" he cried.

"Uh huh…" she replied back slowly. "Can you let go of me, please? I can't breathe…"

Marik quickly released her and helped her sit up against the wall. "I'm sorry...I guess I got a little carried away. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you talking again. How are you feeling, Mimi?" he replied smiling as he sat next to her on the bed.

Mimiki looked down and straightened out the creases in the sheets. "It's okay. I'm fine." she assured him. She looked around and noticed her belongings were sitting in the corner and that her jewelry was missing. She finally looked up at him in confusion. "Marik, what happened? How did I end up back here? I thought that I was—"

"Dead?" he asked sadly. A sad silence fell over them. Mimiki's eyes started to become glassy as she recollected her memories.

"I died…" she said sadly. She noticed that Marik was looking down to the ground and tried to avoid her gaze. He started shaking and sniffling was heard as tears flooded his eyes.

"And it was all my fault! It was all my fault…"

Marik stopped sobbing when he felt Mimiki's sudden embrace. She rubbed his head gently as his continued to cry again. She quieted him until he calmed down. "It's okay, Marik. I'm fine, really."

He quickly pulled away from her and shouted "No! It's not okay! You were not okay at all, Mimi! I found you buried under the sand, DEAD!"

Marik continued to cry harder and Mimiki started to feel worse. "No...if I didn't get mad at you and left from here, I would've been okay. You know me...I'm a drama queen, right? I should've handled my feelings a bit better."

"Stop making excuses, Mimi! It was my fault and don't act like it wasn't! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he shouted again as he continued to cry. Mimiki was taken aback by his outburst and sat there in silence, not knowing what to say to him. She'd never seen him in such a state, so she hugged him again until he calmed down.

"Marik...when I left, I was really mad at you. I had ran away and didn't notice that the sand storm was coming until the heat had gotten to me. Once I realized it, I tried to run back here, but I had already felt sick from the heat, so I hid in that rock enclosure...and that's where that snake bit me. I was so scared...I hate snakes...the bite and hurt a lot...I tried to rip that thing off of my leg and threw it as far as I could. My ankle was throbbing and I felt even worse. The storm came in and I couldn't breathe...I remember passing out soon afterwards."

Guilt started to take over again as Marik looked up at her sadly as she closed her eyes. "When I woke up, I was in meadow. It was really peaceful and serene...the air, the grass, the water...even the sky was different! It was perfect. I've never felt that good in my life and I didn't want to leave. I didn't know that I dead until two angels came for me."

Mimiki opened her eyes again and looked up to the ceiling. "But then I heard your voice...you asked me to come back, didn't you?"

"Yes…" he said quietly.

"Hearing your voice made me want to come back. The angels told me that it wasn't my time to leave. They told me to follow your voice back to the other side. When I came back, I saw you holding me until the breeze lulled me back into my body and I was asleep again."

Marik stayed silent, not knowing what to say. "Don't you get it, Marik? If it weren't for you, I would've stayed on the other side. You saved me, Marik. Please don't cry anymore."

Hearing her words made him hug her tighter and she had shed some tears as well. After a few minutes, he sat back up and she cupped his face with a free hand and wiped his tears away.

"You're my hero, Marik. I can't thank you enough! I'm sorry that I put you through this...I won't do it again...I won't get mad again...I promise!" she said as she started crying.

Marik started to smile a bit and reached for a clean spare hand towel and wiped her tears away. "Don't promise that, Mimi. You get mad all the time. You're the drama queen, remember?"

"But I promise this time! Honest!" she exclaimed. Seeing the worried, yet lively expression on her face made his heart feel light again. She was with him and alive and nothing else could make him happier. He wanted to stay like this with her forever. He smirked when she puffed her cheeks. "You don't believe me, do you Marik?"

"Not at all, Mimi." She quickly snatched the towel from him and playfully hit him with it as he laughed. "I can't stand you, sometimes. I can be nice and you know it!"

"Sure you can…" he said while still laughing.

"Would you shut up and listen to me?!" she asked.

He quickly stuck his tongue out and replied, "Sure, if you can make me!" She groaned and quickly thought of a plan.

"Fine! I will!" She quickly grabbed onto his face and caught him in a sweet kiss. The two teens blushed as he wrapped her in a hug and finally relaxed. In the hallway, Ishizu tried her best not to squeal and Odion smiled. They were happy that they were on good terms again.

Mimiki quickly broke their kiss and stuck her tongue out at him. She laughed at the poor boy, who was still in a daze.

"Oh look! You're quiet! You're cute when you're quiet." she said sarcastically. "That's what you get!"

Marik was still blushing and his lips felt like they were tingling.

'She kissed me! She actually kissed me!' he thought happily as he remained in his daze for a minute.

Mimiki sat there and laughed lightly. He was such a goof to her before, but now he was her knight in shining armor. She lightly touched her lips, as they were still tingling from their kiss and smiled again.

"But seriously, thank you Marik...for everything." she said turning her head away from him. She didn't want him to see her blush.

Marik smiled warmly at her and relaxed as he hugged her again. "No Mimi, thank you."

The two teens soon settled into their old routine. They talked away as if nothing negative happened that day until Mimiki fell back asleep. During that time, their hearts beat in unison with one another with a feeling they both never felt before. Marik tucked her in and rested his eyes on her sleeping figure and smiled lovingly at her again. After today, Marik came to realize how he truly felt about his best friend.

_'I love you, Mimi.'_


	10. Parting

The next morning, Marik woke up before Mimiki and quietly left the room. Mimiki woke up minutes later to an empty room. She regained more energy than she had the day before and sat up in the bed. After stretching, she was caught off guard by Marik.

"Ah, you're awake Mimi. Good morning!"

Mimiki smiled at him. "Good morning, Marik. How are you?"

Marik came closer with a tray of food and sat it on the desk while taking a seat next to her in the chair.

"I'm good, but I think that I should be asking you the same. How are you feeling? You look a bit better than you did yesterday. I'm glad." he said, smiling. He then turned his attention to the food tray.

"Are you hungry? It's not much, but I brought you some molokheya soup and bread."

The scent of the spices made Mimiki's stomach growl loudly and she blushed out of embarrassment as she placed her arms over her stomach. "I guess that I'm hungry. Thank you, Marik." Marik grabbed the tray and placed it on her lap.

"Is it okay that I eat in your bed like this? I don't want to soil your sheets…"

Marik nodded. "No, it's okay. You're my patient and it's fine with me, so eat up! This should tie you over until I take you home." Marik noticed that he forgot to bring something.

"I forgot to bring you a cup of water! I'll be right back!" Mimiki watched the young Ishtar leave the room as she began to eat her meal.

She smiled as a light blush took residence on her cheeks once again. _'You're wonderful, Marik.'_

After finishing her food, Marik stashed the dishes away and grabbed Mimiki's belongings.

"I packed all of your things in your backpack." he said as he handed it to her. She placed it on her back and Marik bent down in front of her.

"Come on, get on my back. I'll carry you home."

Mimiki's eyes widened. "I can't let you do that! Besides, I'm in a dress! Everyone will see me..." she said, blushing bashfully.

"It's okay, we'll be fine. It's still early. If we leave now, a bunch of people won't see us." he reasoned. "Now come on, princess."

Mimiki sighed in defeat. "Okay, if you say so." She lifted her dress a bit and gently grabbed a hold of him and he slowly lifted her up easily.

"Wow...you're really strong. Are you sure that you'll be okay carrying me that far?"

Marik smiled bashfully. "Thanks! Yeah, I'll be fine. Now let's go!"

________________________________

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Mimiki's house. She reached over him and rang the doorbell. They were instantly bombarded at the door as everyone made a commotion about her return. Marik let her stand on her own as her parents inspected the situation.

"Mimiki! We were so worried about you!" her mother exclaimed as she hugged her tightly. A groan of pain escaped her lips.

"I'm okay mom. You know that Ishizu wouldn't let anything happen to us." she assured.

"Yes, but she told me that you were bitten by a snake! You could've died!"

The two teens flashed a quick look at each other before anyone noticed.

_'Mom, you have no idea…'_

Sumie released her daughter from her suffocating hug while Masahiro inspected his daughter carefully. He then noticed that she was wearing different clothes and that her hair was disheveled. He especially didn't like that the dress showed off her shoulders and the top of her chest.

"Mimiki, what were you doing with Marik?! You look untidy!" Then he turned to Marik who was unaware of the man's angry gaze. "What did you do with my daughter, Marik?!" he asked defensively.

Marik jumped and quickly pointed at himself. "Who me? I didn't do anything! I helped Mimiki recover and…"

Masahiro didn't like the words and his mind went south quickly. "Marik did you touch Mimiki? Did you-"

"Daddy! You're being ridiculous! Marik and I did nothing of the sort! He helped me recover from my illness and that's it! My dress was a present from Ishizu for my birthday!" Masahiro gasped his daughter's outburst. She took the matching jewelry from her bag and showed it to them. "See? Here's the matching accessories. Now apologize to Marik, dad!"

Masahiro suddenly felt bad. He felt a tad ashamed at his over-protectiveness, but he didn't want anything to happen to his children, especially on a special occasion like a birthday. "I sorry, Marik. I should be thanking you and your family for helping Mimiki during her time of need. Thank you."

Marik didn't know what to think, but he accepted the apology. Suddenly Mika pulled on Mimiki's dress.

"What is it, Mika? Did you miss me?" she asked as she picked the young girl up. She lost her footing a bit due to the stinging pain of the bite, but Marik caught her. "Thank you, Marik."

"I missed you Mimi!" the young girl exclaimed as she hugged her big sister. "I missed you too, Mika."

"Yay! Can we eat the birthday cake now? Mom said that I couldn't have any until you got home."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh at her comment. "Is that all you missed me for? We'll eat it later, okay?"

Mika pouted a bit and replied "Okay Mimi."

"I'm glad that you're okay Mimi." Makoto chimed in. "Mom said that we were going to have a party for you later. Wanna join us, Marik?"

Mimiki smiled at Marik. "Yes, Marik. Join us later, okay? Bring Ishizu and Odion too. Is that alright with you dad?" she asked.

"Yes, that's alright."

Mimiki turned to Marik and flashed him a smile. "We'll see you all later on today, Marik."

Marik nodded. "Okay. See you later."

Her family helped her into the house while Marik watched. Before the door closed, Mimiki gave him a longing smile. Marik blushed with a bashful smile and waved goodbye.

Later on, everyone had gathered at Mimiki's house for her party. A few of her classmates had also joined in. They celebrated with a yellow cake with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. Afterwards, she had opened a few presents and they danced the night away and played games after having dinner. After a few hours, everyone started to leave while the Ishtars remained as the last guests. Ishizu signaled for them all to leave, as she didn't want to impose any further. Mimiki walked them outside and quietly closed the door behind her.

"Thanks for coming, everyone. I'm glad that you could come. I can't believe that I had two parties this year! I hope that you enjoyed yourselves."

They all smiled at her. "Yes, it was very nice. Thank you for inviting us, Mimiki." Ishizu responded and Odion nodded in agreement. "We'll be taking our leave now, Miss Mimiki. Have a good night."

The Ishtars started to make their way home while Marik trailed slowly behind them, stealing glances of his beloved as she disappeared. Before he could leave the yard, Mimiki called out to him and skipped over to him and he met her halfway.

She smiled sweetly at him again and hugged him. "Thank you again, Marik."

He smiled and returned her hug, wishing that he didn't have to leave. "I'm glad that you had a great birthday."

"Yeah, I did. And you know what makes this the best birthday ever?" she asked him. He thought about it before giving up on an answer.

"No, what is it?" Her answer was one of his favorite things to do with her: a sweet kiss. The two separated, faces as red as a beet and smiles on their faces.

"That's what makes this the best birthday ever. Goodnight." she said quickly before returning to the house. This would be something that they would remember for a long time...and her father too.

__________________________________

Months later, the two teens were closer than ever. It was now December 23rd, Marik's fourteenth birthday. Ishizu and Odion had a small celebration with him early that morning. He had invited Mimiki over to hang out later as well. His mind thought back to the party that they threw for her six months prior. He couldn't believe that it had been that long since their first kiss. He blushed at the thought of those sweet times they had shared together since then. He found himself being guilty of wanting to kiss her often because he loved the feeling it created, it felt like an addiction and Ishizu and Odion had given him a few talks about the importance of exercising self control. He heeded their advice and respected Mimiki, but he couldn't help how he felt about her.

_'But today is a special day, so I should be able to steal a kiss or two…'_ he thought as he snickered. _'They can't stop me then!'_ he thought as he laughed.

"Marik, what's so funny?" a familiar voice asked. Marik jumped up from his bed and found Mimiki standing in his doorway with a hand basket in tow. She was wearing a pink sweater dress with a matching hair bow, brown leggings and black knee high boots. "Mimi! You're here! You look extra girly today."

Mimiki gave him her signature puffy cheek expression. "Do you want your birthday present or not?" she asked as she walked up to him.

Marik laughed and hugged her. "Of course I do! What'd you get me?" he asked excitedly. She pulled a small brown box out of the basket and handed it to him.

"It's not much, but I hope that you like it. I asked my cousin to send it to me. Happy birthday, Marik!"

Marik opened the box to reveal about two decks worth of duel monsters cards. His eyes lit up and he hugged her tightly, causing her to drop the basket. "Wow! Thanks Mimi! You're the best! You got me so many!"

Mimiki returned his hug and smiled. "I told my cousin back home a while ago which cards I wanted to give you and she sent them to me. I thought that it'd be nice for you to have your own deck of cards to choose from. Maybe you'll stand a fighting chance against me." she said as she stuck her tongue out at him and laughed.

Marik rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Mimi."

She picked up the basket, looked inside and sighed in relief. "I brought you something else too. Here."

She pulled a small personal sized cake out of the basket.

"I'm sorry that this is so small. We didn't have a lot of ingredients to make a bigger one, but I made it this morning. Happy birthday!"

Marik's heart felt warm at her kindness. He smiled and hugged her again.

"Thank you Mimi. This has been the best birthday ever." She blushed at his words, happy that she could return the kindness that he gave her during her birthday months ago. The two stayed entwined in the hug for a little longer, his thoughts continuing to fill his heart with warmth.

_'I want to stay like this with you forever, Mimi.'_

Mimiki broke the hug and turned to the box of trading cards. "Why don't we build your deck now? Then we can duel while we eat your cake!" Marik snickered at her and replied

"You're on!"

The two enjoyed each other's company and cake for a few hours. Marik had won a couple of duels and was proud of himself at the fact he had finally beaten her. Afterwards, Marik had suggested that they go to the surface for some fresh air. Mimiki agreed and he linked his hand with hers, guiding her up the stairs. Once they reached the surface, they sat down on a nearby stone half wall. Marik took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled as he watched the sunset with Mimiki. It wasn't too hot anymore and the air felt light and refreshing.

Everything felt so perfect to him at that moment and he didn't want it to end. He watched as she was also enjoying the scenery and peace with their hands still embracing the other. His heart started beating rapidly with each moment they sat there.

"Mimi…" he whispered.

"Hm?" Mimiki replied as she turned to him. He blushed when his lavender eyes met her blue ones and felt his voice leaving him. Mimiki noticed his silence and smiled sweetly at him.

"What's wrong Marik? Are you okay?" She placed her hand on his cheek and started to worry. "You're a little warm and red. You're not getting sick, are you?"

His blush became more apparent and he looked away. "No...I'm okay...I'm not sick." he replied as he looked back into her eyes. _'Does being in love count as a sickness?' _he thought.__

Mimiki blushed a little as he held her hand on his cheek with his intense, yet cute stare. _'Just come out and say it, Marik!'_ he yelled at himself. He took a deep breath and started to speak.

"Mimi...I-I have something to tell you..."

Mimiki pipped up and gave him a "go on" gesture. Marik's heart continued to beat faster.

"You're my best friend..."

Mimiki smiled at him and then gave him a small hug. "You're my best friend too, Marik. I'm really happy that we're friends."

"Yeah...me too...but I like spending—I mean I—what I'm trying to say is that...I really like you...a lot...no! That's not right!" he confessed.

Mimiki grew a little worried for her best friend. "Marik, what—"

He quickly silenced her lips with his finger. "No, Mimi. I have to say this! What I'm trying to say is...is…that I—"

Marik was suddenly cut off by the sound of Mimiki's phone ringing. She pulled away from him and gave him a "I'm sorry" look and answered the phone. "Hello? Dad?"

Marik watched her intensely as she continued her phone call. Her curious face quickly turned to disappointment. "But why now? I wasn't going to stay out much longer!"

Her father finished their argument and Mimiki gave a sigh of defeat.

"Okay. I'll be home soon." She ended the call and closed her eyes. It amazed her how great the cell tower signal was out in the desert. She looked at Marik with a sad face.

"I'm sorry Marik, but my dad wants me to come home. He's been really bugging me lately about coming home early. Can we talk again tomorrow?"

Marik's heart sank at her request. She was right. Her father always called her home earlier than they were accustomed to, and it really bit into their hang out time. He was against having their time cut short, but he didn't want to upset her father and be on his bad side.

_'But I really wanted to tell you…'_

"Yeah that's fine. It's getting dark anyways. I'll walk you home." Marik stood up and offered his hand to her. She accepted and they walked as quickly as they could to the front of her house. She turned and waved goodbye to Marik. "See you tomorrow!"

He quickly waved back and watched her disappear behind the door. His heart sank a bit; he really wanted to admit his true feelings for her today after failing to properly convey them over the past 6 months. His heart sank even more when he realized that he didn't get a birthday kiss. He pouted a bit before walking back home.

_'Tomorrow will be better! I'll definitely tell her tomorrow!'_

______________________________________________

Mimiki closed the door behind her and slipped her boots off. She was a little irritated that such a nice moment was interrupted that way, but she didn't want to argue with her father. He had been pretty overprotective of her ever since her birthday and it had grown worse as time went along. She walked into the hallway to find something peculiar.

_'What happened to the table? Did mom move it?'_

She also looked around the find pictures missing from the walls.

_'Are we redecorating or something?'_

She dismissed the thought and went into her bedroom to change into her pajamas, only to find most of them missing. She checked other drawers to find them empty as well, aside from one outfit and some essentials. Other things were missing as well; books, trinkets and the like. Her heart started to sink as she quickly left the room and called for her parents.

"Mom! Dad!" she called. She found them in their room packing things in boxes. Sumie looked at her worryingly while Masahiro had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Mom, dad, where's my stuff? Why are my drawers empty? Why are you packing up that box?" she asked with a cracked voice.

She hoped what she was thinking wasn't the answer to her question. Sumie looked towards Masahiro to see how he would handle the situation. Masahiro sighed and turn to his daughter and sighed. He knew that this was coming.

"Mimiki, our time in Egypt is over a bit earlier than expected. My job wants us back in Domino immediately. We're leaving tomorrow."

Mimiki's eyes widened as her heart broke into a million pieces. It was like time had stopped and she could literally hear her heart shatter. Her eyes had become glassy as she began to shake. The words finally registered in her mind: she would never see Marik again.

_'No…'_

She continued to stare at her parents until Sumie spoke up with a worried voice.

"Mimiki dear...are you okay?"

Mimiki didn't respond and continue to stare as her world was slowly collapsing.

"No!" she yelled as she ran back to her room and threw herself on the bed, finally releasing her tears. She let out a loud weep as she crunched her sheets in between her fingers. Her crying was overheard by her siblings as they passed her room. They quietly entered and rubbed her back. She quickly looked over to them.

"So mom and dad told you, huh?" Makoto asked.

He took her continued crying as a "yes" and rubbed her back again.

"I understand that you are sad, but why are you this sad?"

Mimiki sat up and looked at him as if he was crazy, scaring Mika a bit. She had never seen her older sister like this before, so she hid behind Makoto. The two younger children noticed this and a pang of guilt hit Mimiki's heart. Makoto stood behind his question and spoke again.

"Why are you this sad, Mimi? You were upset at about leaving Domino and everyone behind and now you don't want to leave?"

Hearing the word "leave" made her heart sink even more. Makoto asked sadly "Is it because you don't want to leave Marik? I thought that he was just your friend. It's not like you're in love with him or anything, right?"

Mimiki's eyes widened after hearing his words. The remnants of her heart questioned her emotions and her true feelings. Did she love Marik? Is that why she was so upset? She remained silent as the two stared at her worryingly.

"Uh...Mimi?"

She remained silent for a while longer as she continued to stare down at her tear stained sheets.

"Get out…" she said quietly. "Please leave...I need to be alone…" she stated.

The two siblings honored her request and left the room. She quickly turned the lights off and buried herself in the covers, leaving herself to come to terms about her impending future and her true feelings. Crying eventually tired the young teenager and she fell victim to a deep sleep, tears continuing to stain her face.

_____________________________________

When he arrived back home, he had a fire of determination burning within him. Marik practiced on how he was going to confess his feelings to her and even used Ishizu as practice. He kept fumbling his words and eventually gave in to his nervousness. Ishizu couldn't help but laugh at him after he dramatically fell onto his bed.

"I give up, Ishizu!" She sat at his desk, taking note of her brother's emotions as she took a sip of tea from a cup.

"I still can't believe that you haven't told her yet, Marik. Didn't I tell you to just be yourself and that girls appreciate honesty?"

Marik shot her an annoyed look and while she smiled back at him.

"I love how you act as if you have all of the answers, Ishizu."

Ishizu took another sip of her tea.

"But I advised you to confess your feelings to her during her birthday six months ago, little brother. And it just wasn't me, Odion advised you as well."

Marik sighed. He hated when she was right. "I know."

Ishizu stood up and grabbed her tea cup. She covered her mouth as a yawn escaped her lips. "Please don't wait an eternity to confess your feelings Marik. Act when opportunity strikes before it's too late. Good night."

"Good night." he replied as she walked out from his room. Her last comment struck a chord with him. _'Hmm...she spoke as if something bad was going to happen…'_

His heart felt a little heavy, but he decided to brush it aside. He was determined to tell her his feelings tomorrow, no matter what, so he believed that nothing would go wrong. Marik yawned a bit before rubbing his eyes and retired to bed. He forced himself to go to sleep despite his anxiousness, convincing himself that the morning would come faster if he did so.

__________________________________

_Marik heard crying under the light of the moon. He followed the crying for what seemed like hours until the sobbing became louder. He saw Mimiki curled into a ball, her crying apparent. He walked up to her, bent down to her level and rubbed her shoulder._

_"Mimi, why are you crying? Are you okay?"_

_She continued to cry a bit before looking up at him. He could feel the despair and sadness in her eyes and it worried him greatly._

_"I'm sorry…" she said. "I'm so sorry…"_

_Marik questioned her words and reached out to hug her. "What are you sorry for?"_

_When he wrapped his arms around her, she disappeared into vapor._

_"MIMIKI!" he yelled as the last of the vapor disappeared from his sight, his eyes widened with horror._

______________________________

He looked around frantically for her, calling her name, only to find no one as his vision slowly faded until black.

Marik was shaken awake until he finally screamed.

"MIMIKI!"

Marik screamed as he jumped up from his bed. He was drenched in a cold sweat and was breathing heavily, his eyes widened as he gripped his sheets. He was met by his older siblings by his bedside.

"Master Marik, are you alright? You were screaming and moving erratically in your sleep."

He looked at them in panic, still breathing heavily. "I had a nightmare about Mimi! She was crying! She disappeared when I touched her!"

Ishizu wiped his head with a spare towel. "Calm down, Marik. It was just an unpleasant dream. I'm sure that Mimiki is alright."

For once, Marik couldn't believe her words. He almost felt like he did when he had almost lost her forever at his own hands. He never wanted to feel like that ever again and the thought of that memory made him sick.

"I have to see her! I have to see her now! Something isn't right! Mimi's not okay!" The two elder Ishtar's were surprised at his outburst and tried to calm him down.

"Marik, please! Calm down!" Ishizu pleaded. "I think that you're a little too anxious about telling her how you feel. Everything will be alright."

"No! I can't! I need to see her now!"

He tried to jump out of his bed to make a mad dash for her house, but was stopped by his siblings. He gave them a look of fear and disbelief.

"If you're going to leave now, at least get ready for the day! Luckily it's morning already. Fix yourself up and then you can leave." Ishizu said calmly. "You're still in your nightclothes and they're soaking wet! I don't want you to become ill."

Marik listened to her. He quickly prepared for the day and left the tomb.

_________________________________________

Mimiki looked out of her window to see the last of their belongings being packed into the moving truck. She had reluctantly gotten ready for the day, as she felt like her body and heart was like an empty shell. She desperately wanted to see Marik one last time and tried to sneak away, but was always caught by her parents asking for help with the packing and helping with the kids. She cursed inwardly as she realized that seeing him again was hopeless. She couldn't imagine the way he'd feel once he realized that his only friend suddenly left without warning.

She turned around to see that her bed was bare, drawers were empty and the only thing that was left was her lapis lazuli bracelet that Marik had given to her for her birthday. She slowly walked up to the dresser and picked up the beloved item, slowly putting it on. As she looked at it, tears started to fall.

"I'm sorry, Marik...I'm so sorry…"

Her crying was interrupted as her parents called her to leave. She grabbed her backpack and took one last look at her old room before heading down slowly to the cab that awaited them. She looked down the path that lead towards the market and shed more tears before she was called into the cab.

_'Goodbye Marik…'_

Marik ran as fast as he could to her house. In the distance he could see the cab driving away from the house. He questioned the sight and forced himself to run faster. By the time he had gotten there, the cab was out of his view. He stopped to catch his breath and a driver had noticed him. He ordered his partner to close the cabin door while he approached Marik.

"Are you alright young man? You're out of breath." the man asked. "Are you lost? Do you require any assistance?"

Marik looked up at him after he felt well enough to speak. "No, I'm alright. My friend lives here and I was on my way to see her." he said as he pointed at the now empty house. The man started to feel confused.

"What's going on? Are you delivering something for her family? I can give it to them, if you like."

Now the man started to feel bad for Marik, but he told him the truth.

"I'm sorry young man, but we've just packed their things away. They're moving overseas. I'm supposed to be taking this shipment to the airport now. The family just left for the airport not too long ago. Didn't your friend inform you that she was leaving?"

Time stopped for Marik instantly as his nightmare was becoming his reality. The man noticed his behavior and grew concerned as Marik's eyes started to glass over.

"I'm sorry young man. I hope that you at least have her contact information. We have to leave now. Have a nice day."

The man turned around to head for the truck until Marik pulled his vest. His lavender eyes pleaded with the man as he cried.

"Please take me to the airport with you! I need to see her one last time! Please! She's my only friend, I beg of you!"

The man pitied Marik and felt the deep sadness in his eyes. His heart got the better of him as he allowed the young Ishtar to tag along. He felt like no one deserved the sadness that Marik was experiencing.

_______________________________________

The Minami family had surrendered their luggage to the baggage handler and proceeded to the security line. Mimiki slowly walked behind the rest of her family. She looked back towards the entrance and wished that she could see him one last time. Feeling like her wish was impossible, she continued to walk until she caught up with her family. She pulled out her passport and ticket, gripping the items rather hard as looked at the information displayed on it and started to beat herself up.

_'You knew this day was coming, Mimiki. You didn't want to move here in the first place! You couldn't wait until the year was over!'_

She almost crushed the ticket in her hand.

_'But I didn't think that I'd meet such a good friend!'_

Before she knew i,t she was at the front of the line and the security agent waiting for her to hand over her passport and ticket.

"Hello young lady. May I have your passport and ticket please?"

Mimiki looked up at him sadly, reluctant to give him said items. She took a deep breath and gave him what he asked for. After receiving the items back, she looked longing at the distant entrance hoping to see him again, desperately wanting her wish to come true.

_'Get over yourself, Mimiki! It's over.'_

She proceeded to follow through with the airport security measures and joined her family as they started to walk further inside the terminal. She only walked three steps ahead until she heard her name being called by a familiar voice.

"MIMI! MIMI!"

Mimiki turned around to find Marik restrained by the security agents, trying his best to wrestle out of their grip.

"MARIK!" she yelled. She tried to reach out to him, but was met with a wall of agents securing the terminal.

"Young man! You're not allowed to access this area unless you have a ticket!"

"Please! I need to see my friend! She's leaving!" he stated between grunts.

"No ticket, no access!" another agent stated.

Mimiki pushed through the barricade of agents enough to see his face. Her heart melted as their eyes met. "MARIK!" she yelled as she started to cry again.

"MIMI!"

"Marik I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to tell you that I was leaving!" she yelled through her struggle. Her words reminded him of his dream and tears started to fill his eyes—he had to tell her.

"I LOVE YOU MIMI!"

Mimiki stopped struggling as she let his words ring through her heart. Her eyes began to sting as she started to struggle again. She desperately wanted hug him, but the agents began to pull her back. The two teens reached out for each other, only to be pulled further away from each other.

"Marik I—"

Her words was drowned out by the PA system and struggling security agents. Mimiki disappeared from Marik's view as the agents pulled him away. Other agents ordered the passengers to leave the area to board their respective flights while they detained Marik.

It was over. His struggle was pointless as he felt his world dissolve into nothing.

Everything felt cold and dark, hearts were broken, but one thing was certain: his heart had died that day.


End file.
